Giáo Phận
Phú Cường – Năm Hiệp Thông Giới Gia Trưởng
Bước vào mùa chay, chuẩn bị đón mừng lễ kính Thánh
Giuse trong năm Hiệp Thông. Giới gia trưởng giáo phận Phú Cường đã quy tụ về
Nhà Chung giáo phận để tĩnh tâm dọn tâm hồn, lãnh nhận hồng ân Chúa ban.
Chúa nhật ngày 9/3/2014, 8 giờ chúng tôi thấy đã có nhiều đoàn xe từ các tỉnh
Bình Long, Tây Ninh xa xôi, gần có Củ Chi, Bến Cát tiến vào khuôn viên nhà
chung giáo phận Phú Cường, các anh em này phải đi từ rất sớm để có mặt ở đây,
vào giờ này.
Sau khi làm thủ tục ghi danh và ổn định chỗ ngồi trên
lầu I, cha đặc trách Tôma Trần Đức Thành giới thiệu chương trình cùng tuyên bố
khai mạc. Nguyện xin Chúa Thánh Thần soi sáng mở lòng trí cho chúng con được
thông hiểu các điều Chúa truyền dạy.
Cùng khai mạc có cha Gioan Baotixita Bùi Ngọc Điệp,
cha Giuse Phạm Văn Hòa và hơn 600 anh em giới gia trưởng toàn giáo phận.
Thắp lửa hiệp thông là bài hát mở đầu cho buổi tĩnh
tâm có điệp khúc như sau:
Hãy thắp lên
ngọn lửa hiệp thông. Hiệp thông trong Chúa, trong Giáo Hội và Giáo Phận Phú
Cường. Hãy thắp lên ngọn lửa hiệp thông, chung sức xây đời bằng gương sáng từ
đời sống gia đình.
Mở đầu buổi
tĩnh tâm là mục chia sẻ. Hiệp thông để truyền giáo là bài do cha Jb. Bùi Ngọc
Điệp chia sẻ. Theo đó cha cắt nghĩa Hiệp thông là gì?. Là hiệp nhất nên một, là
chia sẻ trách nhiệm, là tham gia công tác, là thông cảm tha thứ, chấp nhận
nhau.vv…
45 phút chia sẻ của cha đã lắng sâu vào người nghe,
từ đó mỗi người thêm hiểu biết mình hơn,
thông cảm với anh em mình hơn và nhất là với những anh em chưa cùng đoàn chiên
Chúa, để những người này họ nhận biết Chúa nơi anh em. Được biết, trong giờ
chia sẻ có các cha ngồi giải tội.
Sau giải lao, 10 giờ30 mọi người tập chung ở nhà
nguyện trên lầu 4. Tập hát 10 phút, tiếp theo là thánh lễ.
Thánh lễ đồng tế được chủ sự bởi cha Tôma. Mở đầu cha
chủ sự mời gọi anh em gia trưởng hãy lắng đọng tâm hồn, dâng lên Thiên Chúa
phút giây linh thiêng này để được Chúa thương nhậm lời.
Bài giảng chúa nhật I mùa chay do cha Giuse Phạm Văn
Hòa chia sẻ, đại ý như sau:
Đức Giêsu với bản tính loài người, sau 40 ngày chay
tịnh, Ngài cảm thấy đói. Ma quỷ lợi dụng đã đến cám dỗ Ngài, nhưng Ngài đã vượt
thắng.
Năm xưa ma quỷ đã cám dỗ được ông Adong bà Evà, ngày
nay chúng cũng cám dỗ mỗi người chúng ta.
Cám dỗ không
thể làm hại được người ta khi người ta không theo cám dỗ ấy, và điều đó lại
càng hiệu nghiệm hơn khi có ơn Chúa.
Chống trả chước cám dỗ làm cho ta vững vàng hơn trước
mặt Chúa.
Lạy Chúa, xin cho chúng con biết dùng lời Đức Giêsu
đã dạy là kinh Lạy Cha, là phương thế
giúp chúng con chống trả chước cám dỗ. Amen.
Đông đảo anh em rước lễ cũng là một tín hiệu vui,
nguyện Chúa chúc lành mãi mãi.
Thánh lễ kết thúc sau phép lành, mọi người cùng hát
bài Cầu Xin Thánh Gia “Giuse trong xóm nhỏ khó nghèo thủa xưa….”.
Sau giờ cơm trưa và nghỉ giải lao. Đúng 13 giờ, anh
em lại tập hợp ở hội trường để thảo luận và chia sẻ kinh nghiệm do cha Matthêu
Nguyễn Thanh Yên phụ trách. Trong phần này, anh em đã nêu lên những thắc mắc
hoặc kinh nghiệm để giúp cho sự hiểu biết được rộng rãi hơn.
Gần 2 giờ chia sẻ, mọi mệt mỏi được đánh tan bởi sự
vui vẻ và hóm hỉnh của cha phụ trách và anh em. Thật là một buổi tĩnh tâm đầy
yêu thương.
Mọi người chia tay lúc 15 giờ. Hẹn gặp nhau trong lần
tĩnh tâm lần tới.
Tôma
Đỗ Lộc Sơn
1st Sunday of
Advent Is 63: 16-17, 19; 64: 2-7 Mk 13:
33-37
CREATIVE WAITING
In his book Man’s
Search for Meaning, Jewish psychiatrist Viktor Frankl tells the story of
how he survived the atrocities of the concentration camp at Auschwitz .
Frankl says that one of the worst sufferings at Auschwitz
was waiting: waiting for the war to end; waiting for an uncertain date of
release; and waiting for death to end the agony. This waiting cause some
prisoners to lose sight of future goals, to let go of their grip on present
realities and to give up the struggle to survive. This same waiting made other
prisoners like Frankl accept it as a challenge as a test of their inner
strength and as a chance to discover deeper dimensions of human freedom.
Waiting is one of the large realities of life.
Parents wait for their teenagers to come home. Travelers wait for buses and
planes. Actors and athletes wait for their chance to perform. Students wait for
the results of their examinations.
Waiting is one of the themes of today’s liturgy to
open the season of Advent. The first reading from Isaiah expresses our intense
desire as we wait for the coming of the Lord: “Oh, that you would rend the
heavens and come down… No eye has ever seen any God but you doing such deeds
for those who wait for him.
In the gospel, Jesus tells us to be vigilant as we
wait for his coming. Since he will be away for only a short time, we should do
our tasks while he is absent. As he will return at an unknown hour, we should
be ready whenever he comes back.
What we wait for during Advent is not the same
thing as what the prisoners waited for at Auschwitz .
Yet our waiting for Christ at Christmas includes the fulfillment of every other
expectation.
Our waiting during Advent is not under the same
circumstances as those of Auschwitz . Yet its
final outcome is just as crucial as that of the waiting there. It can be self –
destructive if we have no future goal to hope for. Then our waiting becomes
like that of a prisoner who sees no end to his confinement, an alcoholic who
sees no escape from his addiction or an unemployed worker who sees no
opportunity for a job.
Our waiting during Advent can be creative if we
have a future goal to look forward to, some thing or person to hope in. this,
of course, is Christ whose coming we celebrate at Christmas.
Notice that in the gospel only the man at the gate
was ordered to watch while waiting for the master’s return. The others were
left tasks to do while waiting. If our Advent waiting is to be creative, then
we have to do something active.
For example, we have to take some initiative to
pray so that the Lord can open our eyes to see our need for his coming as
Savior. We have to be energetic about using the sacraments so that the Holy
Spirit can increase our desire for the coming of Christ and expand our hearts
to welcome him. We have to be enthusiastic about social action so that the
power of God can become operative in the world and enable us to change
conditions like war, poverty and injustice.
If we don’t do these things, then our waiting
becomes self – destructive. Pride fills the vacuum left by the lack of prayer.
Secularism replaces our sense of the sacred that accompanies the sacraments.
Selfishness suffocates the ideal of sharing demanded by social action.
Pray that our Advent waiting will not be self –
destructive, but creative – that is, characterized by prayer, the sacraments
and social action. May the Lord “protect us from all anxiety as we wait in
joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ” at Christmas.
2nd Sunday of
Advent Is 40: 1-5, 9-11 Mk 1: 1-8
THE DESERT
In the high desert
of Crestone , Colorado
in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains there is a
hermitage called the Spiritual Life Institute. Founded in 1960 by Fr. William
Mc Namara, the Institute is a center for contemplation under the direction of
an ecumenical community of men and women.
At the entrance to the Spiritual Life Institute
there is a wooden plaque which serves as the Magna Carta of their desert experience. On this wooden plague is a
triangle with three words inside – silence, solitude and simplicity – and three
words outside – contemplation, communion and celebration.
One of the desert heroes of this Institute is John
the Baptist, who is introduced in today’s gospel as a “voice in the desert,
heralding the Lord’s coming”. The gospel then goes on to keynote his desert
experience as an ideal Advent preparation for Christmas.
John the Baptist stands tall in a long time of
biblical desert figures, including men like Moses and Elijah. Later our Lord
himself will go out into the desert for 40 days and be tested by Satan.
Several enormous events took place in the desert,
events like the revelation of Yaweh’s name and the giving of the law. So it is no
wonder that the desert experience is put before us in Advent to prepare for the
event of Christ’s birth.
As Fr. McNamara’s plague points out, the desert
affords us three ways to become prayerful people – the ways of simplicity, silence and solitude. These
three ways can be part of our Advent practices even if we have no actual
physical desert nearby. A desert can be any
place where we can be alone with God to pray – a corner in the backyard, a
nook in the basement, or a park bench.
The first desert aid to prayer is simplicity. The desert experience
invites us to get rid of all the excess baggage that blocks our way to Christ,
and to see things as they really are. In the city we tend to become enchanted
by what is pretty, plastic or superficial. In the desert we come to grips with
what is truly beautiful, real and substantial.
In the city we are under constant pressure to
perform, produce and do many things. In the desert we can simply be and discover that what we are.
The second desert aid to pray is silence. Incessant nose and flashing
lights surround us so much that we are becoming nervous wrecks. The desert
provides a setting of stillness to heal our disturbed spirits and a place of
quiet to calm our frazzled nerves. In silence we can hear God speak to us.
The famous musician Andre Kostelanetz (1901-1980)
once said that we listen too much to television and too little to nature. The
wind was one of his favorite sounds, and he considered utter and complete
silence like a song without words or music without notes.
The third desert aid to pray is solitude. We cannot allow ourselves to
be driven all the time by the herd instinct to escape loneliness. Sometimes we
have to stand alone in solitude to discover who are and who is our God. Only in
solitude can we experience the intoxicating presence of God himself.
In his book Thoughts
in Solitude Thomas Merton says that a solitary does not count himself out
from the crowd. On the contrary, he considers himself as more deeply in touch
with the crowd. Without some solitude our life is a pretense of togetherness.
With solitude our conversations become true communion.
So we don’t have to go to a real desert to prepare
the way for the Lord’s coming at Christmas. But we do have to go into a
symbolic desert during Advent through the ways of simplicity, silence and solitude, that is, by taking time to simply
be, to be quiet and to be alone.
3rd Sunday of Advent Is 61: 1-2, 10-11 Jn 1: 6-8, 19-28
YOU DO NOT RECOGNIZE
Valesa
– A Nightmare is a docu – drama which was written in Poland
Near the end of the play a prisoner priest, who
usually offers a solitary Mass, is joined by the rest of the prisoners at considerable
risk to celebrate the Eucharist. At the moment, the play reaches a climax with
the deafening scream of crows – a Polish symbol for the Communist military
regime under General Jaruzelski.
The cawing of the crows suddenly gives way to the
soft chirping of spring birds and the comforting notes of a piano concerto – a
symbol of the optimism of the Polish people that one day their quest for
religious and political freedom will be realized.
Valesa
– Anightmare shows how Christ can come into our lives even in
the worst of circumstances. The Lord came to Lech Walesa in a Communist prison
through Walesa’s faith and prayers, through his Polish culture and pride,
through his fellow political prisoners and through the sacrament of the
Eucharist.
Christ’s coming is one of the themes of today’s
Advent liturgy. The Jews send a delegation from Jerusalem
Louis Evely begins his book That Man Is You by asking the question: “Would we have recognize
Christ?” We might flatter ourselves by saying that if we had lived in Christ’s
day, we would have loved and followed him. “Really?” Louis Evely asks rather
sarcastically. Then why is it that we do not hear the Lord now when he is
waiting every day to speak to us in the gospel? Why do we not see him now when
he is present at every moment in one of our neighbors? Why do we not touch him
when he is hungry or thirsty in someone near us? All through the centuries,
Jesus has been coming into the lives of his people, and along with his comings
John the Baptist’s indictment keeps reechoing: “There is one among you whom you
do not recognize”. All through history people keep looking for the Lord to come
in the guise of some kind of Elijah of their own imagining, and they keep
missing his coming right under their noses. Are we much different today? We may
be strictly orthodox in our observance of the laws of the Church or know all
the right answers to the questions of the catechism, but do we really know and
experience our Lord in a deeply personal way?
Evely says that God continually reaches out toward
us, but we resist his coming by hiding behind layers of distractions. Christ
wants to speak to us in the silence of prayer, but we drown his voice with
noise from our television sets and stereos. Besides prayer, another way the Lord
comes to us is through his word in Scipture. Hearing God’s word in the Sunday
reading is not like listening to a cassette rerun. No, when God’s word is
proclaimed it comes alive to question and enlighten our minds, to challenge and
test our wills and to move and inspire our hearts. Another avenue the Lord uses
to come to us is the sacraments, those intense moments of grace and peak
experiences of God. If poet Gerard Manley Hopkins could say that “the world is
charged with the grandeur of God”, what can we say of the sacraments? There are
many other ways in which God comes into our lives. If we made a list of them we
would have to include: happenings to us, both good and bad; people we
encounter; the beauty of nature; books, plays and movies that have cultural
value; and heroes of our day, like Lech Walesa.
The season of Advent is a time for us to get in
tune with all these ways in which Christ comes, so that when he comes at
Christmas we will be ready to recognize him, regardless of the form in which he
chooses to appear.
4th Sunday of
Advent 2 S 7: 1-5, 8-11, 16 Lk 1: 26-38
MESSIAH
When George Frederick Handel’s oratorio Messiah was first performed in Dublin
Today’s readings from Scripture may not be as
musical as Handel’s text, but they have their own way of telling us about the Messiah.
The Old Testament reading from the second book of
Samuel presents Nathan’s prophecy to King David, a prophecy that would stamp
indelibly Israel
The New Testament reading from Luka declares how
this messianic prophecy is now being realized through Mary. The angel says to
Mary: “You shall conceive and bear a son and give him the name Jesus… The Lord
God will give him the throne of David his father. He will rule over the hose of
Jacob forever”.
The title Messiah
comes from a Hebrew word meaning “anointed”. Originally only the king was anointed
and called messiah, the way David and
Solomon were. The anointing of rulers invested them with Yahweh’s authority and
wisdom.
After the exile when there were no more Israelite
kings, the term Messiah was
transferred to some ideal, future Savior who would restore God’s favor. This Messiah would appear at the time of
God’s definitive intervention, not only to deliver Israel
Jesus was born at a time when messianic
expectations were high. His whole life would show how he indeed fulfilled these
messianic hopes, but without their political and national overtones.
The title Christ
was a Greek translation for the Hebrew word Messiah, meaning “the anointed one”. As more and more Gentiles
entered the Church, the word Christ gradually
lost its distinction as a title and became part of our Lord’s personal name.
“Jesus the Christ” became simply “Jesus Christ”.
After a performance on time of his Messiah, Handel remarked of his
audience, “I should be sorry if I only entertained them. I wished to make them
better”. In the same way, after this historical and scriptural study, we should
be sorry if we have only been enlightened about the meaning of the word Messiah. Is our new understanding going
to make us better people?
If Jesus as Messiah
is going to mean anything to us personally, we must acquire some of the
attitudes of the Israelites before he was born. First among these would be an
awareness of our need for a Savior.
Without a Savior we are sinners with no escape. But with a Savior we are
sinners who are set free.
Another attitude we need is that of patient waiting. Somehow through
centuries of trials and exile the Israelites were able to wait patiently for
the coming Messiah. In an age of
instant replay, fast food services and quick computer readouts, we find it more
and more difficult to wait patiently for those things in life that need more
time to unfold, things like learning and loving, or friendship and family. Are
we able to wait patiently in our struggles and setbacks for the Messiah to come
and deliver us?
Finally, we need Mary’s faith – filled attitude of
“Let it be”. We may not be too convinced of our own greatness, but since God
calls us as he did Mary, “Let it be”. We may not be too sure about our
resources, but since God sends us sometimes to do the impossible anyway, “Let
it be”.
Christmas – Mass at Dawn (A, B, C) Is 62: 11-12
Lk 2: 15-20
COME TO THE STABLE
“A Legend from Russia
When out of the winter’s rush and roar
Came shepherds knocking upon her door.
They tell her of a royal child a virgin just bore
and beg the grandmother to come and adore. Babushka is good – hearted, but she
likes her comfort, and so her reaction is to go later. “Tomorrow”, she mutters.
“Wait until then”.
But the shepherds come back and knock again. This
time they beg only a blanket:
With comforting gifts, meat or bread,
And we will carry it in your stead.
Again Babushka answers, “Tomorrow”.
And when tomorrow comes, she’s as good as her word.
She packs a basket of food and gifts:
A shawl for the lady, soft as June,
For the Child in the crib a silver spoon,
Rattles and toys and an ivory game
…but the stable was empty was empty when she came.
Is that sometimes our own story? Not empty stables,
but empty lives. We wait too late to tell someone that we love them; too late
to mend a quarrel or heal a hurt; too late to show appreciation to our parents
or enjoy our children; too late to sense God’s presence or receive his graces.
Like Babushka in the story we say, “Tomorrow, not
today; another time, not now”. We’re too busy, or too blind; we like our own
comforts too much, and care about others too little. And so opportunities pass
us by. We find the stable empty, our lives hollow, our love wasted.
Don’t let what happen to Babushka happen to you
this Christmas season. Be like the shepherds. Once the angels left them to
return to heaven they said: “Let us go to Bethlehem
The Lord is not going to send us angels and
shepherds today to point our his stable. Instead, he gives us other signs of
his presence in our midst – one another. But do we see these signs and respond
to them “with haste” today – not tomorrow; or at least this month – not next
month?
May we go quickly to make peace with that person
we’ve offended; call on the phone that relative who might be lonely; visit that
friend who needs our smile; greet that stranger who might be hurting; feed and
clothe the poor who are hungry and cold.
If we can hurry on the day after Christmas to the
shopping malls for all the sales and bargains, why can’t we hurry during the
Christmas season to the Christ Child while he still to be found in the stable
of the hearts of his people?
Sydney Harris once wrote:
The art of
living successfully consists of being able to hole two opposite ideas in
tension at the same time: first, to make long – term plans as if we were going
to live forever; and second, to conduct ourselves daily as if we were going to
die tomorrow.
The secret of a merry Christmas, according to the
Babushka legend, is to keep two things in balance: first, to make plans and
prepare gifts as if we were going to live forever; and second, to serve the
Christ in the people around us as if there were no tomorrow.
Holy Family (A,
B, C) Si 3: 2-6, 12-14 Lk 2: 22-40
STAR TREK
When the movie Star
Trek III was introduced it became an instant success. Much of its
popularity flowed from its science fiction format and its space age technology.
But there were other reasons for its success, too. One of these reasons is its
human appeal to our deep instincts for family, not only for the natural family
as we know it, but also for other family groups – like parishes, civic
organizations and work communities.
The Enterprise Enterprise
In their own way, today’s readings from Scripture
also focus on family values.
The first reading from Sirach stresses the honor
and respect we owe to our parents and elders. The second reading from
Colossians lists the virtues we need for family life – virtues such as
kindness, patience and the readiness to forgive (Col
In Luke’s gospel we see Mary and Joseph bringing
the child Jesus to the Temple to present him to
God and then returning to Nazareth
The Scriptures picture the ideals. What a struggle
families have in our day to make these ideals real! Jane Howard examined many
of these struggles and published her findings in a book called Families. She says that even though
families today are changing their size, form and purpose, they still remain in
one guise or another everybody’s most basic hold of reality.
Jane Howard lists ten hallmarks common to good
families.
First, they have a hero or heroine in whose
achievements they can take pride and whose feats spur them on to greater
things.
Second, good families have a switchboard operator,
someone who tracks what all the others are doing and keeps them connected with
each other. Third, good families are devoted to each other’s well-being but are
also interested in other pursuits like sports, symphonies and sightseeing
trips. Fourth, they show hospitality: they are generous with their invitations,
urge you to come early and stay late, and treat you like an honored guest.
Fifth, good families deal squarely with black sheep
and black clouds; they cherish their eccentrics and confront their misfortunes.
Sixth, they prize rituals: they come together to
observe birthdays, remember anniversaries and feast on holidays.
Seventh, good families are affectionate; styles may
differ from polite handshakes to hearty hugs, but they say: “You count because
you’re one of us”.
Eight, they have a sense of place; thy love their
homeland and hallow the land where they now live, for these are sacred spaces
in their history.
Ninth, good families find some way to connect with
posterity: the generation gap doesn’t exist because communication lines are
kept open between the young and the old.
Tenth, they honor and esteem their elders for their
wisdom and experience.
Although Jane Howard does not list prayer or
forgiveness or self-sacrifice among these hallmarks, it is not difficult to
read these Christian values between the lines of her writing.
To sum up, the Star Trek movies, Jane Howard and
today’s readings all challenge us to minimize in our family life isolation,
apathy and lack of commitment, and to maximize relationships, care and loyalty.
They challenge us to form homes where members no longer feel alienated, hostile
or bitter, but experience loving affirmation, hospitality and kindness.
January 1 – Mary, Mother of God (A, B, C) Lk 2: 16-21
NAMES
In his book The
Name of Game, author Christopher Andersen claims that our name can make us
a success or a failure, a winner or a loser. Andersen’s book is based on the
results of polls he took to determine what qualities most Americans associated
with various names.
On the one hand, he found that people are most
likely to trust and relate to people with common names such as Kathleen (who is
viewed as a person “always most sought after”) or Edward (who is considered as
a “thought-full person”).
On the one hand, it is difficult to imagine someone
like General George Patton as a presidential candidate because of his nickname
of “Old-Blood-and-Guts”.
One of the themes today’s feast of Mary’s
Motherhood is that of the name given to Mary’s son, the name Jesus.
In the first reading from the book of Numbers, we
have a prophet of the power of the
Lord’s name: “So shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites, and I will
bless them”.
In the gospel, Luke calls our attention to the fulfillment of this prophecy: “The name
Jesus was given the child, the name the angel had given him before he was
conceived”.
In his commentary on Luke’s gospel, G.B. Caird
says: “The name Jesus is the Greek
equivalent of the Hebrew Joshua, which
means “The Lord is salvation”. “This is essentially the same sense used by
Matthew in his gospel when he has the angel say to Joseph in a dream: “You
shall call his name Jesus, for he
will save his people from their sins”
(Mt 1: 21).
The Holy Name of Jesus then has a twofold power. It
has the power to save us, and it has
the power to bless us. When we call
on the name of Jesus, we invoke the very presence and power of Jesus himself.
We place ourselves at his feet in the same way as the blind beggar by the
roadside or the disciple John at the Last Supper.
The name of Jesus has power to save us from selfishness, self – pity and self – doubt. It can save
us from envy, hostility and animosity. It can deliver us from discouragement,
depression and despair.
The name of Jesus has power to save us from wasting our resources when we should be sharing them;
from becoming slaves to our appetites when we should be disciplining them; and
from worshiping military might when we should be questioning it.
The name of Jesus has power not only to save us from whatever might be sinful,
but also to bless us with special
gifts and graces, such as health after a long illness, healing after an injury
or a job after unemployment.
Calling on the name of Jesus can bring graces like
new strength to go on when we feel like giving up; new experiences of
friendship and family when we feel lonely and left out; new visions and
challenges to excite us when we feel listless and stagnant.
Jesus himself claims power for his name when he
promises that we will expel demons and heal in his name; that he will be
present with us whenever two or three gather together in his name; that we will
receive whatever we ask for in prayer in his name.
As we begin this new year, may the name of Mary’s
son Jesus be often on our lips to praise him when we rise in the morning and to
thank him when we retire in the evening; to invoke him when we need him to save
us and to summon him when we need his blessings.
2nd Sunday after Christmas(A,B, C) Jn 1: 1-18
WORD POWER
In a recent issue of American Heritage, critic Jonathan Yardley examined what he
considered the top ten books by American authors that shaped our cultural,
social and domestic life. These books were written by such familiar authors,
for instance, as Dale Carnegie, Horatio Alger, Fannie Farmer, Mark Twain and
Dr. Benjamin Spock.
The significant influence their writings had on the
American peoples is an example of the power words have. Words have always
stirred our imaginations, aroused our emotions and inspired us to action.
For example, consider the impact of words spoken by
orators like Cicero
Indeed, words come in all kinds of shapes and
forms, and they have a tremendous power over us. So it is not surprising that
God, too, uses words to reach us.
“In times past, God spoke in fragmentary and varied
ways through the prophets; in this, the final age, he has spoken to us through
his Son” (Heb 1: 1-2).
The gospel of John starts with: “In the beginning
was the Word. The Word was in God’s presence, and the Word was God… The Word
became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we have seen his glory”.
These few verses by John summarize and synthesize
centuries of both Jewish and Greek thought, for he was writing about the
beginnings of Christianity out of a Jewish background for a Greek world.
On the one hand, for the Jews a spoken word was
much more than a mere sound. It was considered to have a life and power of its
own. At every stage of the creation story in Genesis, we read, “And God said….”
Thus, God’s word is creative and dynamic.
When a Jew gave a blessing or a curse, the word
went out and began to act, and nothing could hold it back. That is why Isaac
could not recall the blessing he gave mistakenly to Jacob instead of Esau.
Also, in the Jewish mind, the word of god
enlightens and guides man, especially through God’s revealed word in the law
and in the wisdom literature.
On the other hand, for the Greeks the term logos or word was associated with the mind of God. T denoted God’s plan,
purpose and pattern for the universe. As part of that universe, man’s mind was
stamped with the logos or word of God. It enabled him to reason,
think, know and judge.
According to John Marsh in his Pelican commentary:
In fastening
upon the term word John had provided
himself with a means of effective communication with Jews and Greeks,
Christians and pagans, religious and profane alike.
What we celebrate at Christmas then is God’s
supreme revelation of himself through his Son Jesus – his Word becomes flesh, the divine can now be seen in the human,
eternity appears in time, and the Creator enters creation.
And so powerful is this Word become flesh that in exchange he gives us a share in his
divinity and makes it possible for us to enter eternity.
But for this to happen we have to allow the Word to penetrate our very being, move
our imaginations, and inflame our hearts. We have to let the Word made flesh become a creative force
within us and a light to guide us.
Only then will the Word made flesh sound again through us so that the world will hear
the good news of his gospel, be inspired by the story of his life, and sing of
his glory.
Epiphany (A, B,
C) Is 60: 1-6 Mt 2: 1-12
ADVENTURES
When pilots Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager made their
historic flight in 1986 with their spindly Voyager aircraft, the whole world
followed it with excitement. For nine days a sky-watch was kept tracking this
first non-stop global flight without refueling.
Adventures and risk-takers like Dick Rutan and
Jeana Yeager have always fascinated us. Marco Polo journeying to India and China ,
Christopher Columbus coming to America
It was no different at the time of the Magi in today’s
gospel story. To the cynical observer the Magi must have seemed foolish to go
following a star. These astrologers had to be a little crazy to leave the
security of their homeland to venture forth into a strange country presided
over by a madman like Herod.
When the Magi returned home-much to everybody’s
surprise – they were probably ridiculed. After all, what did they find in
Herod’s land? A child and his mother? Was that their big discovery? Were there
no children and mothers in their own country? How crazy can you get?
Nonetheless, to a person with the eyes of faith,
the Magi had discovered and immense secret. They found not only the secret of
the star, but the secret of the whole universe – the secret of God’s incredible
love for his people. For the child they found was no ordinary child but the
very Son of God become man.
And what they brought back from their adventure was
not material wealth, or art treasures or scientific technology, but the light,
joy and peace that only God can give.
Like adventurers and explorers, all of us are
restless in some degree or other. A few of us are more restless than other and
so we climb mountains, trek across deserts and fly around the world. But most
of us are restless just where we are – at home, on the job or in school.
Regardless of what we seem to pursue in particular
– fame or fortune, some sort of record or just plain excitement – what we
ultimately seek is human fulfillment, something to give meaning to our
existence. Our restlessness is basically a quest for the supreme values of life
– the good, the true and the beautiful. What we search for is that which is
permanent, indestructible and eternal. In a word, our restlessness is a
yearning for perfect union with God.
The Magi found all this in Christ, and so can we.
But like them we cannot allow ourselves to become complacent and self –
satisfied. In a spirit of adventure we have to take risks sometimes.
We have to be foolish enough sometimes to follow
our star. Only then will we come to find the perfect wisdom that is Christ. We
have to be daring enough to walk occasionally in the darkness of faith. Only
then will we come to see the light that is Christ. We have to be courageous
enough to accept ridicule and suffering. Only then will we come to experience the
peace and joy of Christ.
Like adventures Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, we can
pursue our own dream and stretch our own limits – whether in the ventures of
the stock market, the law courts or the labs. But whatever the challenge is
that we pursue, that pursuit will be useless unless – like the Magi – we seek
and find the one thing necessary: Jesus Christ our Savior.
Baptism of the
Lord (A, B, C) Is 42: 1-4,6-7
Mk 1: 7-11
POWER SOURCE
The
Greatest is film about Muhammad Ali’s career as a heavyweight boxing
champion. It shows not only how he was gifted naturally with agility and
strength, but also how he trained extensively with rigorous workouts and diets.
But Muhammad Ali said one time that although all
these things helped, the real secret of his power source was a set of
inspirational tapes to which he listened. The tapes were recorded speeches of a
Black Muslim leader, the honorable Elijah Muhammad. They deal with self –
knowledge, freedom and potential.
Muhammad Ali would listen to these tapes when he
got up in the morning, when he ate his meals during the day and when he retired
at night. He claimed that these inspirational messages gave him the power to
fight for his black people, not only for their glory in the ring, but also for
their civil rights in the arena of life.
In today’s gospel, we have revealed the secret of
the power of another man, Jesus Christ. At the very beginning of his gospel,
Mark wants there to be no mistake about who Jesus is and what the source of his
power is.
The baptism scene Mark draws for us is another
epiphany episode following last week’s one with the Magi. Three signs accompany
our Lord’s baptismal experience to reveal who he is.
First, the heavens were opened to symbolize a new
divine intervention in human history. Second, the Spirit descended on him like
a dove signifying the presence and power of God. Third, a voice was heard
designating him as God’s beloved and favored Son.
The point we want to emphasize is the second sign,
that of the Spirit descending on our Lord. The significance of the Spirit is
seen from its many Old Testament appearances. For example, in Genesis the
Spirit of God hovered over the waters at the beginning of creation; in today’s
first reading from Isaiah 42 the Lord’s Spirit comes upon Yahweh’s chosen
servant.
According to the Old Testament, then, the Spirit
signifies the special presence and power of God. This special divine presence
and power are now revealed in Jesus Christ as he is being baptized, and would
continue to be revealed all through his life.
The
Interpreter’s Bible says this about our Lord’s baptism:
The gift of the
Holy Spirit is an inner transformation, a power for cleansing and energizing
the heart and will, the life of God in the soull of man, it reaches into the
secret places of the heart, where the springs of life are coiled, and motive
power is generated.
In other words, the Spirit that came down upon
Jesus at his baptism empowered him to heal and to teach, to give up his life on
the cross and to rise from the dead.
This same Holy Spirit has continued to come down
upon Christians through the centuries. His power has enabled martyrs to suffer
torture, missionaries to work in foreign lands, married couples to persevere in
fidelity and monks to go into the desert.
By baptism we, too, have the Holy Spirit dwelling
within us. We know that his power is operative in us whenever we are healed or
enlightened, enabled to endure difficulties and disappointments, or
strengthened to survive losses and disasters.
Moreover, like Muhammad Ali we have a sort of tape
recorder to get us in touch with this source of our power, an in – built tape
recorder called prayer. Prayer prepares us to listen to the Holy Spirit, to be
inspired by him and to be moved by him to do great things.
1st Sunday of
Lent Gn
9: 8-15 Mk 1: 12-15
TRAINING PERIODS
In the movie An
Officer and a Gentleman, we are taken inside a boot camp where candidates
are trained to be naval flight officers. Actor Richard Gere plays the lead role
of a candidate who is so intent on being a flight officer that he endures every
test and challenge his tough drill sergeant, played by Lou Gossett, can throw
at him.
In the end Richard Gere emerges from the training
grounds a changed man. Upon entering boot camp he was very selfish – he cared
only about his own success and comforts. But before he left he learned how to
reach out and help his classmates, he felt real pain when his close friend
committed suicide, and he proved himself to be a true gentleman by marrying his
girlfriend, played by Debra Winger.
Today we begin the season of Lent, a spiritual boot
camp in a sense. Its theme of spiritual training is ser forth in the gospel.
The Spirit leads Jesus into the desert. There in the wasteland he stays for
forty days and is put to the test by Satan.
In his Pelican commentary on the gospel of Mark,
Dennis Nineham says that at the time of Jesus it was a common expectation that
the Messiah would be God’s agent to overthrow Satan and all his evil spirits.
In order to do this the Messiah would have to undergo trial of strength and
engage in a tremendous battle of cosmic proportions.
By going into the wilderness, the traditional
dwelling place of evil spirits, Jesus signals that this final climactic battle
between God and Satan has begun. The presence of the tamed wild beasts and the
angels who minister to him suggest that Jesus will emerge the winner – not only
at this initial encounter now, but also later in a more decisive way through
his resurrection and, finally, in a definitive way at the end of time.
We can see then how the elements of training,
discipline and preparation play a prominent role in this temptation story.
Since it comes immediately before the very first words Jesus utters in Mark’s
gospel, it seems as if he wasn’t allowed to begin his public ministry until he
had finished this testing period.
Our Lord’s struggle with Satan still goes on, but
now the battleground has shifted from the desert into our own spirits. Christ’s
victory is guaranteed, but it still has to be worked out in own lives. That is
why we, too, have to go through the periodic training periods of discipline and
testing called Lent. In imitation of our Lord we, too, have to get ready to do
battle with Satan and his evil spirits.
We consider it criminal to send a soldier to war
without basic training, or to send a doctor into an operating room without
adequate schooling. And yet we casually assume that we can go up against Satan
year after year without taking Lent seriously.
Unless we go into training each year to toughen ourselves,
we tend to get soft and self – indulgent. It seems that we have a human tendecy
to slacken in our efforts and to take the easier way whenever we can.
Lenten disciplines counteract this tendency. The
time – proven Lenten disciplines recommended by the Church do not consist of
doing calisthenics, eating survival food and enduring simulated stress
situations. Rather, the Church’s Lenten training program consists of prayer,
fasting and almsgiving.
If we are faithful to these disciplines, then we
will leave Lent changed for the better, much as Richard Gere changed for the
better in the movie An Officer and a
Gentleman. Moreover, we will emerge better prepared and stronger for our
struggles with Satan, much as our Lord was after his forty days in the desert.
2nd Sunday of Lent Gn 22: 1-2, 9, 10-13, 15-18 Mk 9: 2-10
CHARLES RAYBURN
Charles Rayburn has been a victim of cerebral palsy
since his birth. His only means of communication is an electric typewriter
which he strikes with a stylus attached to a band around his head.
In spite of his palsy, Charles Rayburn has
published 37 articles in national magazines. One of his articles appeared in America
Charles Rayburn is a living example of today’s
readings about Isaac and Jesus. These three figures and the three readings are
tied together by a triple theme – the theme of sonship, death and deliverance.
In the first reading from Genesis, we hear how
Abraham was ready to sacrifice his only son Isaac, but God intervened to
deliver Isaac from death and destined him for future glory.
In the second reading, St. Paul
Finally, in the gospel transfiguration scene, the
Father declares that Jesus is his beloved Son. Afterwards, Jesus orders his
disciples not to tell the event to anyone before he has risen from the dead.
All three readings thus have the same triple theme
of sonship, death and deliverance. Charles Rayburn is a contemporary
counterpart of Isaac and Jesus with respect to these themes.
Because Charles Rayburn is unable to walk, talk or
use his hands, he has to die daily to many of his dreams and ambitions. Nonetheless,
he still sees himself as a son of a loving Father.
In his meditation on the First Station he writes:
Jesus is
condemned to death. This reminds me of my condemnation to live as an invalid.
But, is it a condemnation, or is it a gift from the Father – a gift uniting me
more closely to divine love than to worldly pleasure?
When he writes about the Fourteenth Station – Jesus
being laid in the tomb – Charles Rayburn sees himself one day being laid in a
grave. But this burial will only set the stage for his own deliverance from
death, his release from all physical infirmity, and his rising to a life of
glory with Jesus.
Three themes – sonship, death and deliverance –
characterize the lives of three people: Isaac, Jesus and Charles Rayburn. As we
begin the second week of Lent, perhaps we can reflect on how these three themes
are part of our own lives.
First, do we realize that we too are favorite sons
and daughters of a loving Father? With Christ we have been granted all things.
No wonder St. Paul
Second, do we see some purpose to suffering and
death in our lives? To see such a purpose we need faith, and to surrender
freely to our Father’s mysterious, yet marvelous, plan for us we need the trust
of Isaac, Jesus and Charles Rayburn.
Third, are we able to delight in the deliverance
that is already ours? Our deliverance may still be incomplete, but it has
already begun through the sacraments. We have a sure basis for hope in the
sacraments.
Like Christ’s transfiguration on the mountain, our
own transfiguration in this life may still be imperfect. Nevertheless, it
breaks through sometimes with brilliance when we do a noble deed.
Praise the Father for making us his beloved sons
and daughters. Ask him to strengthen us in our struggle with suffering and
death. Look with hope to our future transfiguration when God will raise us from
the dead and take us into glory.
3rd Sunday of
Lent Ex 20: 1-17 Jn 2: 13-25
YAMASAKI
Architect Minoru Yamasaki began his career humbly
by working his way through college for 17 cents an hour at salmon canneries
during the summer. He attained the heights of honor when he designed the World Trade Center in New
York
Minoru Yamasaki’s architectural career spanned more
than 40 years before he died in 1986. Besides the World Trade Center, he was
famous for designing the Lambert – St Louis Airport Terminal in 1956, the
Dhahran Air Terminal in Saudi Arabia in 1961, the McGregor Memorial Conference
Center in Detroit in 1968, the Performing Arts Center in Tulsa in 1976, and the
Founder’s Hall in Japan in 1982, just to name a few.
Now suppose Our Lord were to say to us: “Destroy
Yamasaki’s works, and in three days I will raise them up”. We would probably
respond the way the Jews did in today’s gospel: “It took Yamasaki more than 40
years to build those structures, and you’re going to raise them up in three
days!”.
In other words, on the material level Christ’s
claim seems ridiculous and, in a sense, it is. We already know that Jesus
rejected working miracles like tossing up skyscrapers just to dazzle us with
his power.
But on the symbolic level, Christ’s claim makes
absolutely good sense. As the evangelist himself notes, Jesus was talking about
the temple of his body which was going to be raised up from the dead.
We have here an instance of how Jesus speaks in
John’s gospel on two different levels. His listeners take the immediate literal
meaning of his words, only to miss the symbolic sense our Lord intended.
For example, Jesus speaks to Nicodemus about being
born again spiritually, but Nicodemus takes it in the impossible physical
sense. Jesus speaks to the Samaritan woman about life – giving water, but she
assumes that he is talking about ordinary water.
Times haven’t changed much. Too often, we hear the
words of Jesus in the gospel and miss their main message. Now into the third
week of Lent, we’ve already heard Christ call us to repentance and conversion.
But how many of us have been content with merely window dressing our hearts,
instead of changing them from within as to our motives, attitudes and desires?
Today’s gospel episode also illustrates how John
uses dramatic irony. The setting is the Temple
in Jerusalem Temple
The irony is that now Jesus is the one driving
people out of the Temple Temple
Questions confront us at both ends. On the one
hand, have we ever “turned our Father’s house into a marketplace”? We have if
we’ve made them cozy social clubs instead of centers of Catholic Action, or
spiritual drive – ins instead of real communities of love.
On the other hand, have we ever driven the Lord out
of the temple of our hearts? We have if we’ve harbored a grudge against
someone, judged then harshly, or ignored their cry for help.
While there is still time left to Lent and to our
life, may we listen to our Lord’s words more with our hearts than with our
ears, lest we miss the meaning he intends for us.
Also, when we look at beautiful structures like
Yamasaki’s World Trade
Center , may we see them as sings of
the temple of Christ
4th Sunday of
Lent 2Ch 36: 14-17, 19-23 Jn 3: 14-21
GOING ON
John Voigt and Jane Fonda play the lead roles in
the movie Coming Home, which is about
an American soldier crippled for life because of the Vietnam War. The film
focuses on the psychological as well as the physical ordeals of this paraplegic
– how he struggles with the help of a woman to accept his handicap, reconstruct
his dreams, and create a future for himself.
This Vietnam War vet’s situation is very similar to
that of the Jews in the first reading. As a people the Jews had just
experienced destruction, death and deportation. However, just when it seemed as
if it were all over for them, God inspired King Cyrus of Persia not only to release them from exile, but
also to help them rebuild their Temple
God often sends people to help us through a crisis:
parents and children frequently intervene to assist each other; a true friend
often comes through when no one else will; sometimes it is the pastor, a
teacher or a parishioner who bails us out.
Regardless of who it is that God sends to help us
in times of trouble, there is one person he always sends to be at our side –
his own Son Jesus. In John’s gospel we read that God loved the world that he
sent his only Son, so that whoever believes in him may not die but have eternal
life.
The primary meaning, of course, is about life after
death. When we die, it will not be the end of our life but only a time for
change into a new kind of life – eternal life as opposed to temporal life,
immortality as opposed to mortality.
But there is also a secondary meaning to the
passage. We have eternal life even now. In a sense, we already share in the
life to come; it has already begun for us; we only wait for its full
development and completion.
In other words, God is sending his Son to be with
us every moment of our lives, and if we really believe in him we will not die,
but live; we will not give up in times of crisis, but find a way to survive; we
will not be defeated by difficulties, but devise ways to overcome them.
What a source of strength to know that if we
believe in Jesus, we will not die, but live! Even though death may separate us
from someone dear to us, the Lord will be with us in our loneliness and raise
up new relationships to support us.
Even though a tragedy like a fire or a flood may
devastate our home, the Lord will be with us to rebuild what we have lost. Even
though a mistake may destroy some of our precious dreams, the Lord will be with
us and inspire us to start all over again.
Like the Jews in exile or like that Vietnam
Like the psalmist in Psalm 137, we may be despoiled
of something or depressed for some reason. Nonetheless, we can sing a new song
because we remember that God still loves and is still sending his Son into the
world.
So long as we believe in him we don’t have to die
by giving up, but can continue to live meaningfully by going on.
5th Sunday of
Lent Jr 31: 31-34 Jn 12: 20-33
THE GRAIN OF WHEAT
In the movie The
Poseidon Adventure, a ship is turned upside down by a tidal wave. Under the
leadership of a priest, played by Gene Hackman, a small group of passengers
makes an incredible struggle for survival.
Several members of this group die during the
adventure, including the priest himself. However, it was his heroism which
inspired the passengers who did survive to persevere. His death became the
source of their escape to life.
Death leading to life is one of the themes of today’s
gospel. Jesus says: “Unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it
remains just a grain of wheat. But if it dies, it produces much fruit”.
This paradox of death producing life appears in
many ways.
We see it in the history of liberation, for
example. The martyrdoms of Joan of Arc in France ,
Mahatma Gandhi in India and
Martin Luther King, Jr, in America
In the history of art, literature and music, some
artists have put to death in their works traditional forms of expression to
give birth to new ones. Pablo Picasso in painting, Ezra Pound in poetry and
Igor Stravinsky in music all created new forms of expression by transcending
the classical forms of the past.
In the history of transportation, the passing of
some means of conveyance was connected with the discovery of better means.
During the industrial era the horse – and – buggy was replaced by the
automobile. Today the pollution problem and energy crisis signal the death of
the combustion engine. Who knows what automotive engineers will design to
replace it?
In the history of the Church, the death of some old
structures was necessary to allow the growth of new ones. The Old Testament
ritual of circumcision was put to its rest for the Jews who became Christians.
The Latin liturgy of the Middle Ages was given its proper burial when Vatican
II brought out the vernacular Mass.
In our own personal growth there has to be a dying
to some of our old attitudes and forms of behavior before we can assume a new
lifestyle. Unless we put to death our self – seeking, we cannot bring life to
others by the joy we spread and the hope we inspire. Unless we die to our vain
ambition to climb the social ladder, we cannot bring life to others by lifting
them out of their poverty and indignity.
As disciples of Jesus, this is how our own
sufferings become the source of salvation for others. This is how our grains of
wheat die in the ground in order to produce much fruit. This is how we lose our
life in this world to preserve it for life eternal.
Death and life are deeply related. Whether it is to
liberate nations, enrich culture or improve industry, often something has to
die in a sense when something new is created. Whether it is to renew the Church
or to renew our own personal life, often something must pass away before new
life or new forms can emerge.
As the Mass continues, we pray that our Lenten
sacrifices may be a source of salvation for others. As our Lord is lifted up in
the Eucharist, we pray that the death of our selfishness may draw us into a
deeper life with Christ.
Palm Sunday Mk 11: 1-10
Mk 14: 1-15: 47
TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY
In 1978 President Anwar Sadat of Egypt Camp David peace accord.
The agreement was an unprecedented move on Sadat’s
part because he was the first major Arab leader to accept Israel
President Sadat was assassinated by some of these
Arab extremists in 1981. Ironically, he was killed while viewing a parade to
celebrate the anniversary of the 1973 battle that had made him an Arab hero.
The life and death of Anwar Sadat suggest some
striking similarities to the life and death of Jesus, similarities that stand
out on Palm Sunday. For both Sadat and Jesus had loyal followers who acclaimed
them, but also enemies who eventually killed them. Both men entered their final
scene to sounds of triumph, only to depart from it on a note of tragedy.
So as we begin Holy Week with Palm Sunday to
commemorate our Lord’s passion and death, we see paradoxes at work between triumph and tragedy, and between rejoicing
and rejection.
During the opening ceremonies centered on Christ’s
triumphal entry into Jerusalem
During the reading of Mark’s version of the
Passion, sadness was the dominant
mood – we are appalled by the treachery of Judas, agonized with Jesus in the
garden, wept with Peter over his denials, felt helpless at our Lord’s trial,
hurt with him as he hung on the cross and mourned with Mary over his burial.
What effect should these two moods of celebration
and sadness have on us? One is to reaffirm our faith in Jesus. The people didn’t ask questions of Jesus like, “Are
you the one who is to come?” or “Where did you get all this?” They simply
exclaimed their faith in him, “Hosanna!” And they expressed it in action by
laying down their cloaks for him.
Another effect Palm Sunday should have on us is to
solidify our hope. We live in a world
where death abounds in the midst of life. Every day our newspapers are filled
with fatalities because of abortions, AIDS, drug overdoses, suicides, hunger or
war.
Nonetheless, the passion and resurrection of Jesus
prove that life will prevail over death. They give us hope that even when death
has done its worst, life will win out. So, with hope in our hearts, we will
continue to do life – affirming things such as caring for the sick, helping the
poor, ministering to the abandoned and working for the peace.
Triumph and tragedy marked the lives and deaths of
Anwar Sadat and Jesus. In some degree or other they mark the life of every
Christian’s journey to Jerusalem
Easter (A, B,
C) Ac 10: 34, 37-43 Mk 16: 1-8
DO NOT BE AMAZED
The
Fourth Wise Man is a movie made for television and based on Henry
van Dyke’s 1895 classic. It begins like a Christmas story but ends as an Easter
story. Martin Sheen stars as the fourth wise man, Artaban, who was late for the
journey the three wise men made to Bethlehem
For the next 33 years, he tries to find the
promised Messiah, only to miss him at every turn because he is constantly
getting sidetracked to help people. In his last efforts to find Jesus, Artaban
arrives late one more time at the crucifixion. Jesus has just died on the
cross.
At that moment the earthquake occurs and Artaban is
struck by a falling tile. As he lies there dying he is broken – hearted because
his quest to find the Messiah was never realized.
Suddenly, the risen Lord appears to him. Jesus
tells him that for the past 33 years he had, in fact, been found by the fourth
wise man in the person of all the people this wise man had helped. Whatever
Artaban had done to the least of the Lord’s people, that he had done to Jesus
himself.
This Easter story is retold in another form in
today’s gospel. Instead of three wise men seeking the Lord, with the fourth
wise man coming along late, we have three women coming to the tomb, seeking the
Lord who has been crucified.
Startled by an angel at the empty tomb, they are
the first ones to hear the good news of Easter: “You need not be amazed! You
are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, the one who was crucified. He has been
raised up. He is not here. He is going ahead of you to Galilee ,
where you will see him just as he told you.”
Like the fourth wise man and the three women, we
often go looking for the Lord in the wrong places. We expect to find him in
places or people or circumstances where we imagine he should be, but he
surprises us when he shows up elsewhere.
How many of us go looking for the risen Lord only
among our successes and good times, or among the so-called beautiful people and
people of influence – but miss seeing him in our failures and bed times too, or
among the unwanted and unloved people around us?
Often we go in search of the Lord at some shrine,
church or other place we consider sacred, only to pass him by in the secular
places where he can be found too – the marketplace, factories and offices.
Poet William Blake understood this as he envisioned
the whole world as a place where God’s presence is revealed and can be
experienced. He wrote:
To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wildflower
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.
We should not be amazed, then, to find the risen
Lord in a beauty of nature and in the works of his creation. Nor should we be
amazed to experience him in strange places, chance meetings or unforeseen
events, as long as we’re open to his revelations and not limited by our own
expectations.
We don’t have to journey to Jerusalem
or Lourdes
“You need not be amazed”, the angel tells us this
Easter Sunday. “The risen Lord you are looking for has gone ahead of you to Galilee – to the Galilees of your homes, and your places
of work and play. There you will find him, as he told you, in whatever you do
for the least of his people.”
2nd Sunday of
Easter Ac 4: 32-35 Jn 20: 19-31
BE AN INVITER
At a national mathematics teachers conference in Toronto in 1982, psychologist William Purkey of the University of North Carolina
Purkey began with a forestry fact. If you plant an
acorn correctly and provide it with the right conditions, it will grow into a
mighty oak tree with a 100% success rate. Kids are like acorns when they come
into a family or enter a school – they have unlimited potential to be a success
at a rate of 100%.
And yet, more than one – third of our adult
population is in trouble with emotional problems, neuroses, psychosomatic
illnesses, depression and so on. That’s a psychological statistic.
Why such a poor success rate? Purkey claims that it
is because somewhere between childhood and adulthood we were more disinvited than invited to develop and become great.
When do we disinvite
people? Every time we demean, ridicule, poke fun at them, hurt their
feelings, or make them feel unloved. What effects does disinviting have? It
diminishes one’s self – image and destroys self - esteem.
The opposite of disinviting people is to invite them to learn and to love life.
We invite people to greatness by making them feel good about themselves,
expressing care for them, and showing we understand and appreciate them.
In his book, Invitation
to Greatness, Fr. Frank McNulty calls these invitations “ego boosters” and
notes their effect:
Words of praise
and appreciation, successful accomplishments and achievements are all great ego
boosters, but the most effective of all is love….People
in love help one another reach their full potential.
Jesus was the greatest inviter there ever was. The
only ones he disinvited were the Pharisees, and they don’t count because they
disinvited themselves. Today’s gospel gives us a good example of Jesus, the inviter to greatness.
If we had made that first appearance to the
apostles, what might we have said? “Where were you cowards when I was
crucified? Peter, my leader, I told you that you would deny me three times, and
damned if you didn’t do it. One of you was so scared when they arrested me that
you streaked off naked”.
That’s what we might have said – disinviting
things. But what does Jesus say? “Peace be with you. I know you failed. But
that’s Ok. I’m alive now. Receive the Holy Spirit”. Everything Jesus says and
does in inviting, up – building, encouraging and affirming.
Then here is the Thomas scene. Jesus doesn’t
destroy his already badly damaged self – image. He doesn’t scold Thomas for his
stubbornness. Jesus simply and gently invites Thomas to touch his wounded hands
and to put his fingers into his pierced side.
Jesus gives Thomas positive affirmation – “Thomas,
be a believer”. Jesus reasserts his apostleship – “Go and teach the whole
world; forgive sins”. Jesus enhances Thomas’ self – image by what he says and
does.
Isn’t this the way Jesus deals with us, too? He
invites us to believe in him, to love life, and to affirm one another. “Don’t
be a disbeliever,” Jesus says. “Be a believer. Don’t be a disinviter. Be an inviter”.
So Jesus sends us into the world to invite people to greatness by welcoming
them warmly like guests we’re happy to see; by reaching out to do little things
for them; by showing sympathy when they fail and adding a word of encouragement
to try again; by sharing their dreams and celebrating their successes.
“Don’t be a disinviter,”
Jesus says. “Be an inviter”.
3rd Sunday of
Easter Ac 3: 13-15, 17-19 Lk 24: 35-38
AFTERLIFE
In the movie Resurrection,
actress Ellen Burstyn stars as Edna Mae McCauley who suffers near – death.
As a result of a car crash, Edna Mae apparently dies in a hospital emergency
room. After a few moments of frantic effort, the medics succeed in reviving
her.
During that interval of apparent death, Edna Mae
has a mysterious experience of an afterlife. She is transported through a
tunnel of light where she meets family and friends who have already died. When
she returns to consciousness, she remembers this peaceful experience very
vividly, and she is blessed with the power of healing.
The movie Resurrection
reflects what researches like Raymond Moody and Elisabeth Kubler-Ross have
learned from people who have had similar near – death experiences. Such
glimpses of an afterlife do not prove there is a resurrection after we die.
They merely hint at its possibility.
We accept that possibility on faith, especially
faith in the resurrection of Jesus. This foundation of our faith is found in
today’s readings from Scripture.
In the first reading from Acts, Peter says: “You
put to death the Author of Life by handing him over to Pilate. But God raised
him from the dead, and we are his witnesses”.
In the gospel, Jesus appears to his disciples after
his resurrection. They thought they were seeing a ghost. “Why are you
disturbed? It is really I, Jesus says. Touch me and see that a ghost does not
have flesh and bones as I do”. Then he eats some fish to try to convince them.
All of us have an irrepressible instinct they says
we are more than a corruptible biological composition; that death is not the end;
that somehow life must continue beyond the grave. Christ’s resurrection
confirms this instinct.
First, it says that life after death is real. Death
may be dreadful because it separates us from our loved ones, but Christ’s
resurrection appearances to his disciples show that death does not end our
friendships and human relationships. Rather, it adds a new dimension to them.
Death may be fearful because it is our final
experience in this life, but Christ’s resurrection shows that death is not
ultimate in its finality. Life after death is not just a fantasy. Rather, it is
a reality based on faith.
Second, Christ’s resurrection says that life after
death includes the body. Certainly Jesus’ risen body has qualities that our
body doesn’t have yet. For example, it is incorruptible and can pass through
closed doors. His risen body is different, but it is still a body.
In the same way, when we rise from the dead, it
won’t be as pure spirits. We will rise with our bodies transformed by
incorruptibility and glorified by immortality.
What reassuring revelations these are! Because life
after death is real, we don’t have to be terrified of suffering or death. Our
victory over them is already won in Christ. We don’t have to be disturbed about
losing our family or the results of our work. We expect to regain them in the
resurrection.
Because life after death includes the body, we
don’t have to worry about whether our body now is graceful or crippled,
energetic or aging. Every kind of body we can imagine is destined to rise from
the dead and be transfigured into glory. Just as the flower and the fragrance
are one, so too our body and spirit are one. Death may separate them, but the
resurrection will reunite them.
Praise the risen Lord for revealing to us that life
after death is both real and physical. Thank the Lord for being present with us
today in this breaking of the bread, the pledge of our presence together at the
heavenly banquet in the afterlife.
4th Sunday of
Easter Ac 4: 8-12 Jn 10: 11-18
LAYING DOWN ONE’S LIFE
In San Salvador on
March 24, 1980, an assassin killed Archbishop Oscar Romero with a single shot
to the heart while he was saying Mass.
May this
immolated body and this blood sacrificed for mankind, strengthen our body and
our blood, so that we can give ourselves to
suffering and pain like Christ… to give people a vision of peace and justice.
Since Archbishop Romero was demanding human rights
for his people under oppression, he knew that his life was in danger. Still he
persisted in speaking out against tyranny and for freedom. He once told
newspapermen that even if his enemies killed him, he would rise again among his
people.
Because Archbishop Romero was so devoted to his
people in San Salvador
The dominant theme in this passage is that of the
Good Shepherd laying down his life.
No less than five times is this phrase or its equivalent used in our Lord’s
description of himself. Total commitment and sacrifice are the keynote to
Christ’s role as the Good Shepherd.
In his book John:
The Different Gospel, Fr. Michael Taylor underlines the positive dimension
of Christ’s death. Our Lord’s death was not a negative work done by darkness
but a free laying down of his own life to demonstrate the depths of his love
for us. Fr. Taylor writes:
The Father did
not tell Jesus to get himself killed. He told him to show his people how much
he loves them. One shows love by giving
of oneself and Jesus gave himself fully in death. While darkness conspires
to destroy him, a more profound plot is being acted out: God’s eternal love
incarnated in his Son is being given up so
that the world might share in it.
In order to share in this kind of love God has for
us, we in turn have to love one another, be good shepherds for each other, and
lay down our lives for one another. This doesn’t mean that we have to be
crucified on a cross like Jesus or be assassinated like Archbishop Romero. But
it does mean that we have to be deeply concerned about each other and committed
to each other’s well-being.
Good shepherds who lay down their lives mean
husbands and wives who can’t do enough for each other to demonstrate their
devotion; parents who make countless sacrifices for the good of their children;
teachers who spend untold hours instructing weak students; doctors and nurses
who work untiringly to show they care for their patients.
Good shepherds who lay down their lives mean
employers who share profits with their workers; politicians who unselfishly
promote the common good of their voters; parishioners who generously support
their parish community.
The paradox is that if we shepherd one another in
love, we don’t lose anything by laying down our life in service. Rather, we
gain it back. We take it up again, as Jesus said in the gospel.
In fact, like Jesus who took up his life again in
the resurrection transfigured with glory, we too will take up our life again,
transformed and renewed by grace. We will experience a deeper kind of peace,
enjoy a stronger sense of satisfaction and find a happiness surpassing all our
hopes.
5th Sunday of
Easter Ac 9: 26-31
Jn 15: 1-8
LA DOLCE VITA
In the opening scene of Fellini’s film La Dolce Vita (“The Sweet Life”), a
large statue of Jesus is carried over Rome
Critic Bosley Crowther sees in this scene a summary
of the film’s theme:
Dignity is
transmuted into the sensational. Old values, old disciplines are discarded for
the modern, the synthetic, the quick by a society that is sated with pleasure
and itself. All of its straining for sensations is exploited for the picture
magazines and scandal sheets that merchandise excitement and vicarious thrills
for the mob.
The film goes on to follow the escapades of
Marcello as he flits from mistress to mistress and from orgy to orgy. Marcello
embodies the loneliness, emptiness and boredom of the jet-set crowd with whom
he keeps company.
Their decay is symbolized in the last scene in
which Marcello and his friends find on a beach a strange fish rotting in the
sun. Across the inlet, an innocent girl calls to Marcello. Although she reminds
him of the good and simple life he once enjoyed and could recover, he cannot
find the courage to react to her invitation.
La
Dolce Vita illustrates what our Lord meant when he said in
today’s gospel: “I am the vine and you are the branches. He who lives in me and
I in him will produce abundantly… A man who does not live in me is like a
withered, rejected branch, picked up to the thrown in the fire and burnt”.
When Marcello grew up with his family in a small
town he led a simple but happy life. But now that he has forsaken their
religion and lifestyle for the decadence of the big cities, he finds himself
not only unhappy, but also dying intellectually, morally and spiritually.
Indeed, Fellini’s imagery of the rotting fish and
Christ’s metaphor of the withered branch are strong symbols of what happens to
us when we separate ourselves from our Lord, his Church and our family.
That’s the bad news of today’s gospel. The good
news is summed up under three points by Peake’s
Commentary on the Bible. First, it recalls Old Testament descriptions of Israel Israel Israel
If we life in Christ by prayer and sacrifice, then
we produce much fruit, like curbing violence and bringing back peace on our
city streets, counteracting pornography and restoring decency in entertainment,
and removing injustices and establishing equal opportunities in the job market.
If we remain in Christ by reading his Word and serving his people, then we can
do all things, such as curtailing substance abuse and inspiring a love of
learning in our students, diminishing dissension and instilling cooperation in
parishes, and curbing quarrels and filling homes with loving concern.
Separated from Jesus, we end up like dead fish or
dead wood. United to him as branches to a vine we can be living, growing and
fruit – producing people.
6th Sunday of Easter Ac 10: 25-26,
34-35, 44-48 Jn 15: 9-17
NO GREATER LOVE
D – Day, June 6, 1944, will stand forever as a day
when one of the most daring deeds ever done for freedom took place. In his book
D – Day with the Screaming Eagles, George
Koskimaki details the heroism of the paratroopers who jumped on that day of
destiny.
By spearheading the invasion of Normandy
Yet, in spite of knowing that many of them would
have to sacrifice their lives, these paratroopers went ahead and did their duty
– in fear, but with faith in their cause; not wanting to die, but willing to
die for the liberation of Europe .
The price paid by these brave men was great.
Koskimaki reports that one company jumped with 208 enlisted men and 11
officers, but only 69 enlisted men and 4 officers came back.
In a dramatic way these paratroopers demonstrated
the meaning of our Lord’s words in today’s gospel: “This is my commandment:
love one another, as I have loved you. A man can have greater love than to lay
down his life for his friends”.
In the Anchor
Bible Commentary on John’s gospel, Fr. Raymond Brown points out that the
Greek philosopher Plato said something very similar to what Jesus said: “Only
those who love wish to die for other”.
But Fr. Brown also adds that the statement Jesus
made – fulfilled later in his own death on the cross – left a greater mark on
subsequent behavior than Plato’s statement did. It has inspired martyrs and
soldiers and missionaries in every century since the time of Christ.
If we study the gospel text further, we notice that
our Lord’s words come as a climax to an impassioned plea about love. He uses
the word love no less than eight
times in sixteen lines of his speech. Nowhere else in the gospels does the
theme of love dominate a text so strongly.
Since Jesus is about to die, his words on love
become his last legacy to us – a legacy he would act out by laying down his
life for us literally on the cross and sacramentally in the Eucharist.
Moreover, it is a legacy that leads us to do the same thing – to make love our
supreme value and to lay down our lives for none another.
Laying down one’s life in love may sometimes
involve real death, as it did for the Screaming Eagle paratroopers. But more
often it means a lot of little laying downs of our selfishness for the good of
someone else, especially when we’re not in the mood.
Whether we’re in Normandy or Nashville, these
laying downs might take the form of giving up some television time to call up
someone just to be friendly, or going out of our way to visit someone who is
sick, or writing a note of sympathy to someone who is grieving.
We lay down our lives whenever we leave aside our
comfort to welcome a guest, or lend a helping hand to a neighbor, or volunteer
our services for some parish activity.
There is not greater love we can show to our family
or friends than to give something of ourselves, or to share something
personally, or to set aside something that is very much a part of our life.
Jesus lives on in our love because he laid down his
life on the cross for our salvation. The Screaming Eagles live on our love
because they laid down their lives in defense of our freedom. What kind of
legacy will we leave behind us? Is there any cause or any person for whom we
are laying down our lives in selfless service and sacrifice?
Ascension Ac 1: 1-11
Mk 16: 15-20
SOLAR POWER
One of the national coordinators of Sunday held
early in May every year is Denis Hayes. He works as a researcher at a Washington , D.C.
Hayes claims that we are at the crossroads of
making a critical choice for mankind – the choice between going solar or going
nuclear. Hayes opts for the sun because it is “the world’s only inexhaustible,
predictable, egalitarian, non – polluting, safe, terrorist – resistant and free
energy source”.
We’ve already learned to use the power of the sun
to grow food, make wine and operate greenhouses. All we need to do is develop
better technology to harness solar energy to heat our homes, drive our cars and
run our industry.
People like Hayes are looking at the sky with its
sun as the main source of our future power supply. Today we turn our attention
skyward for another reason – to commemorate our Lord’s ascension into heaven.
But as we do so the idea of power appears again, this time in the three readings from
Scripture.
In the first reading form Acts, Jesus makes a
promise: “You will receive power when
the Holy Spirit comes down on you”.
In the second reading from Paul’s letter to the
Ephesians, he asks that we may be enlightened to know “the immeasurable scope
of the Lord’s power in us who
believe” (Ep 1: 19).
Finally, in the gospel, Mark mentions twice the signs which accompanied those who
believed. First, in the promise by our Lord before his ascension: “Signs like these will accompany those
who have professed their faith”. Second, in their accomplishment after Christ’s
ascension: “The Lord continued to confirm the message through the signs which accompanied them”.
Power, then, seems to be one of the principal
effects of our Lord’s ascension. We have a paradox here. The Lord Jesus removes
his physical presence from our midst; nonetheless, his power remains operative.
We can no longer see him with our eyes, yet we can see signs of his presence in
people whose lives he inspires. We cannot hear his voice with our ears anymore,
but still he heals us by the power of his Word when it is read in Scripture. We
cannot feel Christ with our own hands, but he continues to touch us through the
power of his sacraments.
Going back to our opening image of the sun, Galileo
once said that the sun, with all the planets revolving around it and dependent
upon it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the
universe to do.
We might say something similar about our Lord. Even
though the whole universe depends on his power just to stay in existence, he
bathes each of us with the powerful rays of his love as if he had nothing else
to do.
However, we seem to ignore his presence and power
most of the times, for we still have children starving, workers unemployed and
nations warring.
If only we took Christ’s promise seriously and
actually expected him to continue working his sings of power through us, then
even though we might not be able to drink deadly poison or handle serpents, we
would at least be able to make some progress in alleviating famine, creating
jobs and establishing peace.
May we take our Lord at his word and go out
proclaim the good news that hiss power is still operative in us and through us.
7th Sunday of
Easter Ac 1: 15-17,
20-26 Jn 17: 11-19
SENT IN HIS NAME
Judge James L. Ryan and his wife Mary live in the Detroit
In his addresses, Judge Ryan called on the
graduates to recognize and accept their God – given individuality, to refine
and enrich that unique identity, and to put their special gifts at the service
of humanity. He said:
We live in a
society which desperately needs the comfort of your gentleness, the example of
your discipline, the joy of your artistry, and the force of your logic.
The scenes in today’s readings have some of the
characteristics of commencement exercises.
In the first reading from Acts, Matthias is picked
by lot to fill the vacancy left by Judas. We might say that he graduates from
the rank of a follower into the select group of the twelve apostolic leaders.
In the gospel, the setting is the Last Supper
before Christ’s death. Up until now, the apostles have been taught by our Lord.
But after his ascension they in turn will have to go out and teach others.
Christ’s prayer at the Last Supper sounds very much
like a commencement speech: “Father, consecrate them by means of truth…. As you
have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world”.
Like Matthias and the other apostles, we too are
sent into the world. It is for this that we have been consecrated by our
baptism and commissioned by our confirmation. Like the graduates of today, we
are sent to face the challenges of the future. It is for this that we are
instructed every Sunday by God’s word and strengthened by the Eucharist.
What a source of confidence for us! During the Last
Supper Jesus knew how weak and frail his apostles were. Yet he made a darling
act of faith in their ability to proclaim him gospel.
In the same way, Jesus knows how weak we are. Yet
he makes a bold act of faith in us. “I know they can do it, Father”, he prays.
“Do not take them away from their responsibilities at home or from their
opportunities at work. Instead, send them into the world to face today’s issues
and to transform the universe”.
What a magnificent task this is – to be sent into
the world to change it! Not to run away from its problems of poverty and
oppression, but to plunge into them and improve the lot of God’s people. Not to
turn away from the world’s injustice and violence, but to turn toward them and
remove them. Not to turn our backs on its abortions and drug addictions, but to
confront them and eliminate them.
Our task is not to condemn the world for its sins,
but to save it; not to abandon its peoples, but to redeem them; not to reject
its institutions, but to renew them.
It is for this magnificent task that we are sent
into the world – to confront it, to influence it, and to change it for the
better.
As Judge Ryan and Jesus have reminded us, our
purpose in life is not merely a private affair – our own sanctification; it is
also a social matter – the world’s transformation.
At the end of this Eucharis, like so many school
graduates today, we will be sent into the world – to challenge it and to change
it for the better. If Christ believes in us, how can we help but go out with
confidence in our own unique individuality and ability? How can we help but
begin again, commence with eagerness to do our task?
Pentecost (A,
B, C) Ac 2: 1-11 Jn 20: 19-23
THE BREATH OF GOD
With the new technology available, modern man tends
to analyze things scientifically. For example, he can look at the way we
breathe and measure the lung capacity of athletes, astronauts and smokers.
By way of contrast, primitive man tended to view
things mythologically. For example, in his book The Heart of the Hunter, Laurens van der Post tells how a Bushmen
tribe in South Africa
When a Bushmen died he relied on the wind to blow
away his footprints so that no one would be under the illusion that he was
still living. Moreover, the Bushman believed that upon his death he would
rejoin the great wind from which he came. In this way he would continue his
existence, a sort of immortality.
Today’s gospel for Pentecost uses another ancient
myth about breath and life. The risen Jesus appears to his disciples in the
upper room on the evening of Easter Sunday. After greeting them with words of
peace and showing them his hands and side, “He breathed on them and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit”.
In his commentary on this passage, William Barclay
says there is no doubt that when John wrote these verses, he was thinking back
to the Old Testament creation stories of man. The Hebrews used the same word to
signify both wind and spirit, and, in their understanding, the
wind was the breath of God.
So in Genesis 2 we read how God first formed man
from the clay of the earth, and then breathed
into him to make him come alive. Also, in Ezekiel 37 we have the prophet’s
vision of the valley of dead, dry bones. Yahweh commands the Spirit to come from the four winds to breathe life into those bones.
Consequently, what we have symbolized at Pentecost
by the words breath and spirit is a new creation and a new
beginning. That’s why we sometimes call the Feast of Pentecost the “birthday of
the Church”.
Before Pentecost the disciples were huddled
together behind closed doors. Paralyzed by fear, confusion and hesitancy, they
could only wait and pray. But when the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost, his fire
kindled their hearts, and his wind drove them out into the streets to proclaim
the good news.
That was the beginning of the Church’s mission to
make disciples of all nations. What those early disciples began is yet to be
finished. That’s why we need a new coming of the Holy Spirit in our own day.
In his book A
New Pentecost, Cardinal Suenens points out that even though we have already
received the Spirit in baptism and confirmation, we need a new coming by him in
the sense that we need a keener awareness of his presence, a stronger faith in
his power and a releasing of his gifts.
In other words, even though the Holy Spirit is
always with us, as Jesus promised, he can perform new actions within us and
through us – like removing obstacles caused by our sins, taking a deeper
possession of our hearts or inspiring us to be more generous.
Our need for a new Pentecost and a new creation by
the Holy Spirit is expressed in a version of an ancient Irish hymn by Edwin
Hatch:
O breathe on me, Thou Breath of God,
Fill me with life anew.
That I may love what Thou dost love,
And do what Thou wouldst do.
O breathe on me, Thou Breath of God,
Till I am wholly Thine,
Until this earthly part of me
Glows with Thy fire divine.
Holy Trinity Dt 4: 32-34, 39-40 Mt 28: 16-20
FACES OF GOD
In 1961 Dr. Carl R. Rogers published a book called On Becoming a Person. Since that time it
has come to be recognized as a classic in psychotherapy. Its popularity is due
in large part to its positive approach.
While Dr. Rogers does not deny the disorders,
maladjustments and neuroses that trouble people, he prefers instead to
emphasize the immense potential we have as persons to develops, to adapt and to
grow.
According to Dr. Rogers, to “become a person” we
have to focus more on our possibilities than on our problems, more on our
freedom than on our restrictions, more on our capacity to create than on our
past mistakes.
Perhaps we can take our cue from Dr. Rogers in our
approach to the mystery of the Holy Trinity. In the Creed we confess that there
is one God, but three Persons. Too often we have negative feelings about our faith
in this mystery because we can’t adequately comprehend it, let alone explain
it.
But if we adopt Dr. Rogers’ positive approach on
becoming a human person and apply it to our perception of the three divine
Persons, then perhaps our attitudes and feelings about this mystery will change
for the better.
Scripture certainly does all it can to help us take
such a positive approach.
The reading from Deuteronomy doesn’t dwell on what
we don’t know about God. It states quite simply that God is Lord of all, that
he created us and that there is no other God.
In the second reading St.
Paul refuses to get fixated on our fears and on those things that enslave us.
Instead, he gets all excited about how we are led by the Spirit into God’s
family, into true freedom and ultimate glory (Rm 8: 14-17).
Finally, in Matthew’s gospel Jesus doesn’t make a
lengthy speech to the apostles about how they should explain the Trinity. He
just tells them to proclaim this teaching and to baptize people in the name of
that Trinity.
The sacred authors thus take a very positive
approach to the Trinity. A modern spiritual writer who does the same is Romano
Guardini. In his book The Life of Faith, he
views the mystery of the Trinity as revealing to us different faces of God.
First, there is the face of God as Father – the
beginning and the end of all, the Creator, the Ruler. He is not only the God we
obey through the Commandments, but also the God we address as “Our Father”. He
is not only the God to whom Jesus referred in the parables, but also the God
about whom Jesus could say, “The Father and I are one”.
Second, there is the face of God as Son. Jesus
is the only – be gotten Son of God, the divine Word of God who took on our
human nature. On the one hand, Jesus shows us the God who heals us and forgives
us. On the other hand, he shows us the God who challenges us to higher things
and sends us out to do his work.
Third, there is the face of God as Spirit. He
is the Comforter who is always with us, the Paraclete who teaches us. The
Spirit is the very breath of God giving us new life, the love of God poured out
into our hearts and the power of God enabling us to become his witnesses.
As we profess our faith today in the trinity of
Persons in the one God, may we also pray to them to help us become the kind of
person we are meant to be – a true child of God our Father, a living image of
Jesus his Son and a consecrated temple of the Holy Spirit.
EUCHARISTIC FAITH
In New
York City
During that ordeal Brigitte was given not only
blood transfusions, fluids and painkillers, but also the Eucharist which she
specifically asked for. Brigitte was then taken to a hospital where doctors
operated on her for another five hours.
The crane accident was only the most recent of a
whole series of mishaps Brigitte had suffered. During the previous fifteen
years, her first child had drowned accidentally at age 18 months, her husband
died of cancer, her father was killed in an automobile accident, she had two
operations to remove cancer and she suffered multiple injuries in a cable car
crash in Switzerland
And yet, after all that, Brigitte Gerney did not
curse Christ when she was under the crane. She asked for him in the Eucharist.
She did not blame God for her bad luck. She asked her rescuers to pray with
her. No wonder Dr. Tom Fahey, Jr. said of her: “She has an indomitable spirit
and a strong faith in God”.
Do we have that kind of faith? Do we believe that
strongly in Christ’s presence in the Eucharist? On this Feast of Corpus Christi
we have an opportunity to reaffirm our faith in the Eucharist. Today we can
take our stand with the people of Exodus and accept God’s covenant with us:
“Lord, all you’ve said at the Last Supper about the Eucharist, we will believe.
All you have commanded about it, we will do”.
During her excruciating ordeal Brigitte Gerney
requested and received the Eucharist. On the strength of that bread she was
able to survive the six hours she was pinned under the crane and another five
hours of surgery.
During our own personal journey through life we
sometimes have to cross deserts, encounter accidents, endure disappointments or
suffer tragedies. By ourselves we could never survive. Left to our own strength
we would give up. That is why we need the Eucharist and strength that comes
from this bread to energize our spirits. This is why we need God’s special
presence and power.
In Mark’s gospel we read how our Lord left the upper room and walked out to the Mount
of Olives . What he left was
the Last Supper during which he instituted the sacrament of the Eucharist. His walking out to the Mount
of Olives was also something very sacramental and symbolic. Jesus
was showing that he was ready for his rendezvous with destiny and that he was
resolved to lay down his life for us on the cross.
May this often be our own experience after
celebrating the Eucharis. Coming in we
may be afraid of what we have to face in the future. But when we leave, may we be ready and resolved to
take up our cross. Coming in we may
have serious doubts about how to deal with certain difficulties. But when we leave, may we be filled with
determination to do what God expects of us.
Do we believe that this is possible? Brigitte
Gerney did. Otherwise how can we explain her indomitable spirit in the face of
all the tragedies she experienced?
As we continue this Eucharistic celebration, pray
for Brigtte’s kind of faith in the Eucharist: a faith which firmly believes
that Christ is always present in the
Eucharist, regardless of how absent he
may seem to be at times; a faith which believes that Christ’s power is always available to us,
regardless of how helpless we may
feel at times; a faith which enables us to walk
with our Lord to our own Mount of Olives and to rise with him in glory.
2nd Sunday of
the Year 1S 3: 3-10, 19 Jn 1: 35-42
NAME CHANGES
Can you identify Marion Morrison, Roy Fitzgerald or
Ramon Estevez? Maybe not, but they are actually John Wayne, Rock Hudson and
Martin Sheen. Do you recognize such names as Frances Gumm, Norma Jean Baker or
Betty Pepske? Perhaps not, but they really belong to Judy Garland, Marilyn
Monroe and Lauren Bacall.
It is a common practice among entertainers to
change their names in order to create a certain kind of image, to establish a
new identity or to promote their publicity.
A change in name occurs sometimes in Scripture, and
today’s gospel gives us a classic example. After Andrew gets acquainted with
Jesus, he hurries to bring his brother Simon to our Lord. Jesus looks at Simon
and says: “You are Simon son of John. Your name shall be Cephas (which means
Peter)”.
Later we learn that Peter means rock, and
that it is upon this rock that Jesus
will build his Church. Thus, Simon is
given the new name Peter to signify
his role as the rock of Christ’s
foundation of the Church.
Name changing happens more than once in the Bible.
We recall God giving Abram the new name of Abraham and Jacob the title Israel
To the ancient mind, one’s name was synonymous with
one’s character and personality. Names were carefully chosen because they
signified the ideals a person was to live by and the destiny he or she was to
pursue. So when a name was changed it meant that someone was talking on a whole
new existence as it were, a new character or career or calling.
In the case of Simon’s name being converted to
Peter, it was Jesus’ way of emphasizing Simon’s transition from an older to a
new order – from fisherman to apostle and from follower to leader. It was our
Lord’s way of affirming his faith in Peter as his chief apostle, even though he
knew that Peter would one day deny him.
The new name Peter bore would be a constant
challenge to him to live up to its meaning and truly become a rock on whom others could lean and
depend in times of crisis.
We’ve lost much of this ancient understanding of
the symbolism of one’s name. Most of us don’t even know the source or meaning
of our first name. do you know yours? Mine is Albert. It is Teutonic in origin and means “illustrious through
nobility”.
While my name may not be literally true in my case,
it should nonetheless serve as an inspiration and challenge to me. It should
evoke ideals and qualities for which I should strive.
We’ve also drifted away from the Christian custom
of naming our children after the saints. As a result, devotion to the saints
has understandably fallen off. Not too many of us look to the saints as heroes
and heroines to imitate or as role models to follow.
While having a Christian first name may be
important, it is more important to never forget that God formed us and calls us
by name to be his (Is 43: 1); that Jesus no longer calls us servants but
friends (Jn 15: 15); that our names are written in the Book of Life (Rv 21:
27).
If we remember these things about our name –
whatever it may be – then we will realize better our dignity as disciple, give
more direction to our lives and attain our destiny as saints.
3rd Sunday of
the Year Jon 3: 1-5, 10
Mk 1: 14-20
COURAGE TO CHANGE
In November of 1984 on one of his PBS Late Night America
The book contains frank and revealing conversations
with a wide variety of celebrity alcoholics such as rock singer Grace Slick,
baseball player Bob Welch, actor Jason Robards, comedian Shecky Greene and
Catholic priest Vaughan Quinn.
Also, there are heartfelt conversations with Rod
Steiger and Jerry Falwell, who are children of alcoholics; and Sybil Carter,
whose husband Billy is an alcoholic.
Four years earlier, Dennis Wholey confronted his
own problem with alcohol and now is on a mission with his book to help other
victims of what is sometimes called “the most treatable untreated disease in
this country”.
Dennis Wholey’s message about The Courage to Change matches our Lord’s message in Mark’s gospel:
“This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God
The Greek word for repent is metanoia and it
literally means “to change one’s mind”. It implies a coming to one’s senses
with a corresponding change in conduct. As used in the gospel, metanoia means to turn away from sin and
to turn towards God. In a word, Repent means
to experience a conversation.
This is precisely what recovered alcoholics like
Dennis Wholey have done – they have turned away from their past lifestyle of
drinking and have turned toward a new pattern of behavior. Their old agenda of
indulgence in alcohol has been replaced by a new agenda of abstinence.
Alcohol may or may not be one of our weaknesses. In
either case, since we are all sinners, we have other weaknesses to contend with.
Christ’s call to conversion exempts no one. All of us stand in need of turning
more and more away from selfishness and laziness, or from pride and
stubbornness, or from greed and possessiveness.
Who of us can say that we have no sins of omission
to repent of? Sins like neglecting hospitality and courtesy, or failing to
return something borrowed or to say thanks for a favor, or avoiding
responsibility and prayer.
But turning away is only half of the conversion
process. The other half is to turn towards something better to bring us closer
to God, to believe in the good news, as it were.
The easiest way to root out a bad habit is to
reinforce a good one – like developing discipline to displace our laziness,
sharing more to stem our selfishness, or taking time to pray to cut down on our
television viewing.
To believe in the good news challenges us to get
involved in a noble cause, like the pro – life program, the war on poverty,
nuclear disarmament or the anti – apartheid movement.
Indeed, as Dennis Wholey points out in his book, it
takes courage to change, whether personally in our battle with something like
alcohol, or socially in our struggle with something like injustice. But change
is possible, as his own conversion shows. For some of us, change is imperative
if we’re ever going to hear the good news.
Moreover, the time is now, not later, according to our Lord. The kingdom is here, not some place else. Like the four
disciples called in the gospel, we have to act at once, or it may be too late.
4th Sunday of
the Year Dt 18: 15-20
Mk 1: 21-28
TEACHING WITH AUTHORITY
In one of its issues Newsweek addressed in depth the Women’s Liberation Movement. It
observed that once the revolution was declared, the nation was flooded with
books on the subject.
Some books, like those written by Nancy Woloch and
Phyllis Schlafly, were serious studies of the significance of the movement.
Other books, like those authored by Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem, were more
strident and dogmatic.
The later illustrate what often happens in a
movement – self – styled prophets emerge who presume to speak with full
authority. And so we have had such figures as Hugh Hefner as the spokesman for
the Playboy Philosophy, guru Timothy Leary for the LSD cult and the militant
Malcolm X for the Black Power movement.
History shows that many of these movements die out
and that their prophets fade away. But there is one movement that endures, one
prophet who lives forever. The movement is Christianity and the prophet is
Jesus Christ.
This is what today’s readings from Scripture
proclaim.
In the first reading from Deuteronomy, God speaks
to Moses: “I will raise up a prophet like you from among your kinsmen. I will
put my words into his mouth. To him you shall listen”.
This Old Testament promise is fulfilled with the
appearance of Jesus. In Mark’s gospel we see people spellbound by Christ’s
teachings because he taught with authority; we see demons obey his command
because he was the Holy One of God.
Unlike so many self –styled prophets today who only
pretend to speak with full authority, Jesus
truly speaks with full authority because it was given to him by his Father.
“For I have not spoken on my own authority”, Jesus says in John 12. “But he who
sent me, the Father, has commanded me what I should say”.
Unlike so many false prophets today who distort the
truth, Jesus teaches nothing but the
truth. As he replied to Pilate in John 18: “This is why I was born and why I
have come into the world – to bear witness to the truth”.
Unlike today’s self – appointed teachers who
enslave us to sex, drugs or violence, Jesus leads us to freedom. He declares in John 8: “If you abide in my word, you shall
know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”.
Unlike today’s prophets who make empty promises of
finding fulfillment, Jesus himself is
the source of our fulfillment. As he told the Samaritan woman at the well in
John 4: “He who drinks of this water will thirst again. But anyone who drinks
of the water that I will give shall never thirst”.
Unlike today’s false teachers who have only a phony
kind of power, Jesus gives us a share
in the very power of his Spirit. He announces in John 14: “He who believes in
me will do the works I do, and greater far than these he will do”.
During this Eucharist, Christ comes into our midst
to teach us through the readings of Scripture. Like the prophets Moses, he
comes to speak the words of God to us, not about trivial things but about
ultimate issues like truth, freedom and fulfillment. Jesus comes to teach us,
not with empty promises but with full authority and power.
Pray that we may not harden our hearts and stifle
his voice. Pray that we may listen to his words and not to the lies of today’s
false prophets.
5th Sunday of
the Year Jb 7: 1-7 Mk 1: 29-39
DO WHAT JESUS DID
The
Day the Bubble Burst is a movie which focuses on the day the
Stock Market crashed in 1929 and the banks closed. That day ushered in the
Depression Era of lost fortunes, unemployment and soup lines.
But it was not only an era of economic depression.
It was also an era of human despair. Thousands of people committed suicide or
went insane when they lost all of their savings and had no other resources on
which to depend.
Job, too, lost all his wealth, property and even
his family. He too knew the feelings of misery, hopelessness and depression.
That is why in today’s first reading he describes his days as drudgery and his
nights as dragging on, and he envisions his life as ending soon without hope.
But it isn’t only people of the Great Depression who
experienced what Job felt. We see people all around us today who are
discouraged because they can’t find work; helpless because their disability
benefits are drastically reduced; frustrated because their food stamps run out;
hopeless because their welfare assistance doesn’t match their cost of living.
If we’re comfortable, healthy and secure, it’s
difficult for us to identify with Job or to understand people who suffer like
him. Nonetheless, we cannot ignore the depths of human misery that surround us
or pretend not to see the poverty of two – thirds of the world’s population.
Many a crime or incident of terrorism is a cry of
protest against such suffering. They are acts of outrage against the injustice
and poverty that destroy the human spirit.
How do we alleviate the misery of today’s Jobs? It
would be simple if some great world leader arose who could bridge the gap
between the “haves” and the “have notes”. It would be nice if our governments
could supply all the welfare and security we need.
But such solutions are naïve and unrealistic. We
can’t sit back and wait for others to minister to the Jobs of today. We have to
get personally involved ourselves.
We see such personal involvement in today’s gospel.
Jesus personally helped Simon’s ill mother – in – law. He cured the sick people
who were brought to him. He expelled demons from the possessed he encountered.
He went out to preach the good news of hope to the poor.
What Jesus did must be the keynote of our own
ministry to the Jobs of today. Where we find sickness we can offer assistance
in some form. Where we find possession by drugs or drink we can support
programs that news of hope that can be recovered through prayer.
Sometimes we can help people cope with their
difficulties by words or gestures of encouragement. At other times we can help
people through their pain by just being present and sympathetic. Whatever we
have to say or do to minister to someone who is hurting should be of supreme
importance to us. Such a person may know a day when his bubble burst because he
lost his job, his health or a loved one. But he should never know a day or a
night without a friend, because he should always be able to depend on our being
there the way Jesus would be present – to touch, to listen, to love.
6th Sunday of
the Year Lv 13: 1-2, 44-46 Mk 1: 40-45
FAITH HEALING
In his book The
Spirit of Synergy: God’s Power and You, Methodist minister Robert Keck
tells how he was racked with pain and confined to a wheelchair by the age of
forty. In search of a non – chemical way to manage his pain, Keck explored
Christian faith healing, psychic healing, acupuncture, biofeedback and medical
hypnosis.
Quite suddenly, 80% of his pain disappeared and has
not returned. Keck believes that his healing happened when all his research
formed a momentary gestalt – that is,
a unified peak experience. This was his discovery of synergy, a way of using all the resources of body, mind and spirit
for healing and pursuing wholeness.
In his holistic approach to health, Robert Keck uses
meditative prayer to tap the resources of altered states of consciousness where
God’s activity frequently takes place. Keck’s contention is that if God can
speak to us through dreams, why not let him heal us through meditative prayer
if he so wills?
Healing and wholeness are treated in today’s
readings from Scripture.
The first reading sets the stage for the healing
Jesus does in the gospel. There, the book of Leviticus tells us how lepers had
to keep their sores exposed and isolate themselves from the rest of the
community.
In the gospel we see the other side of the story of
leprosy. A leper comes to Jesus and asks to be cured. Jesus stretches out his
hand, touches the leper, and says: “I do will it. Be cured”. The leper was
instantly healed.
Modern medicine can control leprosy today, but has
yet to find cures for our own dreaded diseases of cancer and AIDS. Nonetheless,
Christ sometimes cures even victims of these illnesses when it is his will and
we approach him in faith.
We go to doctors in hospitals as we should, but do
we ever consider going also to Jesus in prayer? We put our faith in
contemporary medical practices, but do we also put our faith in Christ’s
sacraments?
Even if Jesus does not heal us physically, he can
always heal us spiritually. Today’s Psalm 32 proclaims how we can turn to the
Lord in time of trouble and be filled with the joy of salvation; how we can
confess our sins and have our guilt taken away.
Moreover, Christ can also heal us psychologically.
He can transform our despair into hope, fear into courage and anger into
acceptance. Our physical sufferings may not diminish, but we will have Jesus to
support us as we endure them. Our pain may find no relief, but Jesus will be
present to reassure us as we put up with it.
During this Eucharist we have an opportunity to
remember and pray for the sick, especially for the sick members of our own
family and parish. As we come to Christ in Communion may it be with the faith
of the leper in the gospel, an expectant faith in our Lord’s power to heal all
our ills whether they be physical, spiritual or psychological.
“Lord, if you will to do so, you can heal us”. Let
Jesus touch us and say, “I do will it. Be cured”.
7th Sunday of
the Year Is 43: 18-25 Mk 2: 1-12
FELLOWSHIP AND FORGIVENESS
After Frank Tanana graduated from Detroit Catholic
Central in 1971, he went on to pitch for the Angels, Red Sox, Rangers and his
hometown Tigers. At the height of his career, the fire – balling left – hander
“lived a pretty wild life” as he chased after cars, women and booze. But he
still wasn’t happy.
Then in 1978 Frank Tanana injured his throwing arm
and found his baseball career jeopardized. He did some serious soul –
searching, and through the help of a Bible – reading teammate, John Werhas, he
changed his life.
“I repented of my sins”, Tanana
said, “and asked the Lord into my heart”. Since that time, his priorities have
been firmly set in the order of God, family and baseball, and he leaves his
future in the hands of God.
“When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed
man, My son, your sins are forgiven”. He then told the paralyzed man to stand
up, pick up his mat and go home.
There is something unusual about this incident.
Most miracle stories in the gospel occur because of the faith of the one who is
helped. Such was the case of the Canaanite woman, for example, or the blind man
Bartimaeus.
In fact, later in chapter 6 of Mark’s gospel we
will see that Jesus is unable to work any miracles in his own hometown of Nazareth
But in today’s story we seem to have a miracle
occurring almost independently of the man being cured. His sins are forgiven and he is
cured, but specially because of the faith
of his friends. In his book Invitation to Mark, Rev. Paul Achtemeier
makes some comments about this point:
Faith is ascribed to the four who
brought the paralytic man, and it describes a way of understanding Jesus that
translated itself into action. These four let nothing hinder them from bringing
the paralytic to Jesus. That is what faith means in this story.
What we have here then is a form of faith we
sometimes forget about, and yet one which plays an important role in our lives.
Why my faith is weak, I need your faith to support me. When your faith is weak, you need my faith to support you.
Wasn’t St. Monica’s faith instrumental in the
conversion of her son, St Augustine
We never know what far – reaching effects our faith
will have on others. But we do know from this gospel story that Jesus uses the
faith of other people to touch the life of an individual whose faith may be
weak.
This happened to pitcher Frank Tanana. God used the
faith of his teammate John Werhas to move Tanana ’s
heart to repentance and conversion. Tanana , in
turn, is now being used by the Lord to touch other people’s hearts.
All of us have received similar graces because of
the faith of “four friends” – whether these friends were our parents, our
teachers, our coworkers or our companions. But how often are we one of “four
friends” to others? How often is our faith a source of grace for them when they
are in doubt or distress?
Maybe today the Lord is telling us, not to pick up
our own mat, but to pick up with faith someone else’s mat and carry him or her
into his presence.
8th Sunday of
the Year Ho 2: 16-17, 21-22 Mk 2: 18-22
LOVE IS FOREVER
Ricardo Montalban is best known for his television
series Fantasy Island, his
commercials for Chrysler cars and for movies like Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. He and his wife Georgiana Young
(Loretta’s youngest sister) have been married since 1944 and have four
children.
When asked how they have managed to stay married so
long in show business, where temptations abound and divorces are commonplace,
Ricardo Motalban said:
It’s a question of commitment. Our commitment is all the more serious
because we are both Catholics. When Georgiana and I were married we said, “for
better or worse, until death do us part.” We’re not going to make a mockery of
those words. That was the cement which kept us together through the very
difficult vocation of marriage.
The theme of marriage connects today’s reading from
Hosea with the gospel from Mark.
In the Old Testament reading from Hosea, the Lord
says: “I will espouse you to me forever….I will espouse you in love and mercy…
I will espouse you in fidelity”.
In the gospel, Jesus used wedding imagery to describe
his presence among his disciples as a groom among his guests. His wedding is a
time to celebrate, not fast.
Since a marriage metaphor is used to probe the
mystery of our relationship with God, what can we learn from it?
First, since our union with god is symbolized by
the union between a husband and a wife, it must be marked by love. In the theoretical order, love is
defined as selflessness as opposed to selfishness. Genuine love does not seek
its own pleasure, but the good and well – being of the other.
In the practical order, married love is often
depicted by cartoons like the Love Is series.
In one episode, there was a picture of the husband with this caption
underneath: “Love is keeping calm when she plugs up the plumbing”. How much
does God love us? “God so loved the world that he gave us his only Son” (Jn 3:
16).
Second, just as fidelity
is a sign of the relationship between a married couple, so too it must be a
sign of our relationship with God. Good examples of fidelity can be found among
the wives of the returning POW’s from the Viet Nam
And how faithful is the Lord to us? Even when we
ignore him or run away from him or sin against him, he always remains faithful
to us. No wonder St. Paul
In spite of today’s widespread rapid changes, we
still have a deep human need for values that will last. A marriage promise to
love and honor someone all the days of our life is precisely such a value.
That is the way God wants to make his covenant with
us. He says through the prophet Jeremiah: “I have loved you with an everlasting
love” (Jr 31: 3).
As we continue this Eucharist banquet, we should
realize that it is a wedding feast. Pray that we may respond to the Lord with a
love that is selfless, with a fidelity that holds firm in bad times,
and with a commitment that will last forever.
We don’t have to go to Fantasy Island
9th Sunday of
the Year Dt 5: 12-15 Mk 23-28
LAW
In Robert Bolt’s play A Man for All Seasons, St.
Thomas More shows great respect for the laws of England England
More says: “This country’s planted thick with
laws….and if you cut them down…d’ you really think you would stand upright to
the winds that would blow through them?
Thomas More died a martyr in 1535 defending the laws
of the Church. He gave up his life out of respect for the legitimate laws of
his land.
By way of contrast, the Austrian peasant Franz
Jagerstatter died a martyr in 1943 because he defied the laws of his land.
Franz was beheaded by the Nazis because he repeatedly refused to take the
military oath and serve in what he considered to be an unjust war.
Today’s readings also show two contrasting stances
with respect to the law.
On the one hand, the first reading from Deuteronomy
urges us to: “Take care of keep holy the sabbath day as the Lord, your God, has
commanded you”.
On the other hand, in the gospel we see the
disciples of Jesus violating the law of the sabbath. As they walked with Jesus
through standing grain on the sabbath, they plucked off heads of grain to eat
because they were hungry. Jesus justifies their behavior by claiming: “The
sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath”.
These readings are put together not to confuse us,
but to clarify our attitude towards law. In his Pelican commentary on Mark’s
gospel, Dr. Dennis Nineham points out that in exceptional cases laws might
rightly be regarded as subordinate to human needs. Nineham says that laws are
formed for man’s good, and if the good of man can be really furthered by
violating them, then a lower law is broken in order to keep a higher one. It
seems, then, that we have to keep two things in balance. One is our need of
laws, both church laws and civic laws, in order to safeguard the common good of
society. The other is our freedom the law when a higher purpose comes into
play. Thomas More had a deep appreciation for our need of laws. Properly
enacted laws guarantee our rights, protect our property and promote peace. Such
laws deserve our respect and obedience, even at the cost of some personal
sacrifice at times for the sake of society’s greater good. Franz Jagerstatter typifies our freedom from
the law. Sometimes following a particular law may actually interfere with the
overall purpose of laws in general. Franz found this to be true of the Nazis’
military service laws. So rather than obey them and be implicated in unjustly
taking the lives of others like the Jews, he rebelled against them in order to
follow the higher laws of god in the Bible. Although we may never have to make
a life – death decision about keeping or not keeping some law, it is important
to reflect on our attitude towards law. Too often we can obey or disobey laws
for the wrong reasons, or we can use laws to avoid taking personal
responsibility for our actions, or we can hide behind laws to cover up
embarrassing situations we’d rather not face.Christian discipleship demands
that we take a mature stance toward laws. We have to see laws as Jesus saw them
– as made to serve our needs in community. When laws do this, they require our
respect and obedience. But when a particular law defeats the end of some higher
law, we have to exercise our intelligence and sound judgment and seek the
greater good. Of necessity our following of Jesus will always involve some
rules and regulations and laws. Of more importance, however, is the way use our
own creativity, imagination and enthusiasm to do what is good, life – giving
and loving.
10th Sunday of
the Year Gn 3: 9-15
Mk 3: 20-35
THE KARATE KID
The
Karate Kid is a movie about a young teenage boy named Danny
and the close relationship he develops with an elderly karate expert named Mr.
Miyagi. In order to learn this ancient martial art from the old man, the boy
has to do what his mentor demands of him – like washing Mr. Miyagi’s car a
certain way, or practicing how to balance himself on one foot.
A bond develops between the two that transcends
their differences in age and culture, and Danny ends up not only learning about
karate from Mr. Miyagi, but also a lot about life.
In today’s gospel we see another example of the
close connection that exists between a master and his disciple. Jesus says that
anyone who does the will of God his Father becomes not only his disciple, but
also his brother and sister and mother.
What is the will of God? Simply speaking, the will
of God is what he wants for our fulfillment and happiness. It is his plan to
help us achieve our ultimate purpose in life.
On the one hand, whatever fits in with his designs
for us can be called the will of God. This would include getting what we need
for our physical, emotional and spiritual well – being.
On the other hand, whatever interferes with his
plans for us is not part of the will of God. This would include anything that
deprives us of our basic necessities, impedes our growth as persons or harms us
spiritually.
There are three questions to address concerning the
will of God.
First, are the “bad things that happen to good
people” part of God’s will? By “bad things” we mean those inexplicable
accidents, tragedies and misfortunes that sometimes occur.
No, they are not part of God’s will since they
produce so much pain and sorrow for us. Nonetheless, even though they are
evils, they can still be used by God to bring about some good that does fit
into his plan for us.
Second, how do we reconcile human freedom with the
demands of God’s will? We can distinguish some things as already determined by
God’s will from other things yet to be determined.
As to the things already determined by God’s will,
we don’t have any choice about them. They would include non – negotiables like
being born, being redeemed and being destined to die one day.
As to the things yet to be determined, we do have
say. By exercising our free will we cooperate with God in creating what his
will is for us. This would include things like vocation decisions, career
choices and lifestyle preferences.
Third, how do we handle conflicts between God’s
will and our will? We can take our cue from the Karate Kid. He didn’t like
doing everything Mr. Miyagi demanded of him. However, by doing them anyway, not
only did he become skilled in karate, but he also learned about wisdom and
spiritual values.
In the same way, as disciples of the Lord we
sometimes have to surrender with faith our own desires to his demands. But in
doing so, what we gain far surpasses what we give up. We may have to forego
smoking or drinking, but we will find better health along the way. We may have
to let go of some of our luxuries, but we will experience a solidarity with the
poor and the joy of sharing.
Doing God’s will can never diminish or impoverish
us. On the contrary, it will enlarge and enrich us. Doing God’s will may be
difficult at times. Nonetheless, it will draw us into a deeper relationship
with Jesus as his disciples and as his brothers and sisters.
11th Sunday of
the Year Ezk 17: 22-24 Mk 4: 26-34
SEEDS
In December of 1955 a Negro seamstress by the name
of Rosa Parks steeped into a crowded segregated bus in Montgomery , Alabama
This incident triggered the Civil Rights Movement.
Under the leadership of Ralph Abernathy and Martin Luther King., Jr.., a bus
boycott and other nonviolent demonstrations were organized that eventually led
to the abolition of racial segregation laws in transportation, housing,
schools, restaurants and other areas.
When Rosa Parks said a simple “No” to startled bus
driver, she startled something far more significant than anyone could possibly
have imagined in 1955. At a Freedom Festival in 1965 she was introduced as the
First Lady of the Civil Rights Movement.
In tribute to Rosa Parks, Eve Merriam composed the
following poetic verse:
Where is tomorrow born?
How does a future start?
On a winter’s working day.
In a Negro woman’s heart.
This story about Rosa Parks and the plight of her
Negro people is very similar to the situation of God’s people in today’s
readings. Both the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel and the New Testament
evangelist Mark are writing for a persecuted community, a people who are
outnumbered and oppressed by their pagan neighbors.
Ezekiel and Mark are writing to reassure them, to
reaffirm their faith in God’s power to take their tender shoot and make it grow
into a mighty tree, to take their tiny seed and make it grow into a rich
harvest of wheat.
Times are not that much different today. We too
find ourselves outnumbered on certain issues like abortion and divorce. We too
are ridiculed for our stand about decency in public entertainment and about
nuclear disarmament. Like the Old Testament Jews in exile and the early
Christians in Rome
All God requires of us is that we trust in him and
try. He will work out the rest quietly but relentlessly, so that selfishness
will surrender to sharing, evil will give way to goodness and hate will yield
to love.
If we have patience and hope, then eventually the
harvest of what we’ve planted will make is appearance: nations will be
reconciled, communism overcome and human rights restored: the vulnerable
innocent will be protected, the unwanted cared for and the hungry given food.
No matter how small our efforts may be to promote
Christian cause, God will multiply them with his hidden power to bring about
magnificent results. He did it for Ezekiel and Mark and Rosa Parks. He can do
it again through us.
We may not necessarily see these results in our own
lifetime, but Christ’s parables are a promise that they will happen in his own
time.
Where will tomorrow’s trees come from?
From the shoots we plant today.
Where will tomorrow’s justice and peace get their
start?
From the seeds we sow with our hearts.
12th Sunday of
the Year Jb 38: 8-11 Mk 4: 35-41
STORMS
Every now and then we witness a mighty upheaval of
the forces of nature causing tremendous destruction of lives and property. For
example, hurricane Camille in 1969 demolished our Gulf
Coast , a mighty typhoon in 1970 swept
devastating tidal waves over Bangladesh
From the more distant past, we can still recall the
hurricane that struck Galveston , Texas in 1900 with incredible ferocity and the San Francisco
Although we have learned to harness some of the
forces of nature in a limited way with modern science and technology, it seems
that there will always be some forces beyond our control and subject only to
the control of God himself.
Today’s readings from Scripture are a sober
reminder of this. The Old Testament reading from Job and the New Testament
reading from Mark are bracketed together by the word who.
In the first reading from Job, the setting is that
of a storm. The passage begins with the Lord’s question to Job: “Who shut the sea within doors? Who set limits to it?”
The gospel scene is also set in a storm. After
Jesus is awakened he quiets the storm and the disciples ask: “Who can this be that the wind and the
waves obey him?”
The who
question in both readings is one of those larger – than – life questions
like “Who am I?” and “Where am I going?” the who question compels us to confront the existential questions of
“Who is Jesus?” and “Who is God?”
To answer these questions we have to go back to the
creation story of Genesis. According to ancient mythical stories of the Near East , creation resulted when God subdued the forces
of chaotic waters and set bound to them.
In his book Invitation
to Mark, Rev. Paul Achtemeier writes:
Behind our
miracle story there lurks an awareness that only God has power to order and
sustain his creation. The disciples’ final question shows that, despite their
lack of confidence in Jesus’ care for them, they recognize this point – namely,
that Jesus here does what the Old Testament knew God alone could do. God’s
power is now at work in Jesus.
Artists have often used the image of the boat in
today’s gospel to symbolize the Church. Since the parish and individual
families within the parish are the Church in miniature, the boat is also an apt
symbol to represent us. Many times storms toss us around like tiny corks on the
ocean, causing us to cry out in fear: “Lord, don’t you care? Doesn’t it matter
to you that we are going to drown?”
Sometimes a storm arises because of a severe
alcohol or drug problem, or because of an overwhelming economic or health
crisis. We feel that our boat is at the breaking point and that we’re going
under.
But if we have faith in the Lord’s power to control
these seemingly uncontrollable forces in our lives, we can ride out the storm
and reach that farther shore.
At other times a storm may arise because of an
inexplicable feeling of discouragement or depression, or because we feel
unappreciated or lonely. But if our faith in the Lord’s presence is strong
enough, we can make it through that storm and regain our equilibrium.
Who controls
our destiny? The Lord Jesus does, if only we let him steady our hands and steer
our ship.
13th Sunday of the Year Ws
1: 13-15; 2: 23-24 Mk 5: 21-43
DEATH
Before he died of cancer in 1974, Stewart Alsop
wrote a book called Stay of Execution. In
this book the one – time columnist for Newsweek
revealed his thoughts and feelings about his impending death.
Stewart Alsop observed that there comes a time when
“a dying man needs to die just as a sleepy man needs to fall asleep”. Because
he was a man of faith and wisdom, he was able to anticipate his death as a
deliverance from suffering, both for himself and for his family.
Stewart Alsop’s attitude was not one of stoic
fatalism but of Christian optimism. He understood that we will all come to a
point in our lives when peaceful surrender to death makes more sense than
stubbornly struggling on.
Today’s readings deal with the topic of death.
The Old Testament reading from Wisdom tells us:
“God did not make death; he does not rejoice in the destruction of the living.
For he fashioned all things that they might exist. He formed man to be
imperishable.”
In the gospel story bye Mark we hear the report
that Jairus’ daughter is dead. Undaunted by this report, Jesus goes and takes
her hand and say: “Little girl, get up”. She stands up immediately.
On the one hand, we note that these readings do not
deny the destroying power of death, but on the other hand, they also declare
that in the end death will be defeated by life.
Implicit in these readings is a hint of the day or
our own resurrection, when we too will get
up from our sleep of death and our imperishable nature will be fully
revealed. Then will the saying of today’s Psalm 30 be true: “Our mourning will
be changed into dancing and we will forever give thanks to the Lord”.
Nevertheless, the thought of death still arouses a
lot of dread in us and depresses us. Otherwise why would we spend billions on
such things as cancer research and cryogenics? Is not perhaps because we dread
the idea of being a victim of cancer ourselves? Or because we naively hope that
some scientific technique will be discovered that will preserve us from the
decay of death?
How do we deal with death personally? Perhaps some
of us try to escape from death, at least for the moment. We delude ourselves
into thinking that we can defeat death, at least temporarily, by distracting
ourselves with drugs, sex or excitement.
Some, however, try to accept death philosophically.
This is the method of serious thinkers like Dr. Rollo May. In his best –
selling book Look and Will, he claims
that death is not opposed to life, but is essential for its growth and
maturity. The specter of death can make us live with greater urgency and
intensity.
Then there are some of us who are able to face
death with faith in Jesus Christ. Ultimately is our faith in the resurrection
of the body that enables us to defeat death decisively.
Ours is the faith of the poet Francis Thompson when
he wrote in “The Hound of Heaven” that God is our Father and death is only the
shade of his hand outstretched caressingly.
Ours is a faith which allows us to read the gospel
story about Jairus’ daughter not as a mere remembrance of a past historical
happening, but as a proclamation and promise of our own rising from the dead by
the hand of Jesus.
14th Sunday of the
Year Ezk 2: 2-5 Mk 6: 1-6
PROPHETS
One of the better known songs of Simon and
Garfunkel is “The Sounds of Silence”. In it they sing about words glowing in
neon signs and messages written on subway walls.
According to Simon and Garfunkel, advertising and
graffiti are some of today’s prophets, except their sounds are those of
silence. They are prophets in the sense that they speak to us about the signs
of the times, the values we hold and the goals we seek.
Prophets are the subject of today’s readings.
In the first reading, god sends his prophet Ezekiel
to speak to the Israelites. “They are obstinate of heart,” says the Lord. “But
whether they heed or resist, they shall know that a prophet has been among
them”.
In the gospel, Jesus speaks to his own townspeople,
but they lack faith to listen to him seriously. They find him too much for
them, causing Jesus to say: “No prophet is without honor except in his own
house”.
Two themes seem to emerge from these readings. One
is the theme of prophets, the other is the theme of our response to them.
Who
are God’s prophets today? First and foremost it is still the Lord
Jesus himself, the Word Incarnate. Through his presence in the readings of
Scripture he still speaks to us the good news of the gospel. Through his
presence in the sacraments he still touches us with his power and healing.
Next there are the people through whom Christ
speaks: men such as Bishop Desmond Tutu who questions us about racism, and
women such as Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Some prophets may irritate us because we don’t like
their lifestyle. For example, free – wheeling rock stars such as Bob Geldof
upset some people even though their Live Aid Concert raised money for the
starving in Africa .
We should not be surprised at the people God picks
to be his prophets. Some of them we will like, others we will dislike. The
important thing is to be sensitive to the message the Lord speaks through them
about injustice and oppression, or about poverty and hunger.
That brings us to the second theme: How
do we respond to God’s prophets? Too often we are like the Israelites in
the Old Testament times of Ezekiel – we are stubborn of heart. For instance, we
pay attention to prophets during an economic recession, but when prosperity
returns we forget about their call to a life of simplicity and resume our mad
pursuit of affluence.
Often God sends prophets to us to speak about
matters of supreme importance, such as the threat of nuclear war. But we are
too immersed in superfluous matters, such as whether or not our second car
should have air conditioning. Prophets come asking ultimate questions about
life and death. But we’re too “hung up” with trivial questions, such as how
much to pay for a videocassette recorder.
No wonder there is so little peace, justice and
happiness in our society. We shout our ears to what God is saying to us through
his prophets. No wonder Jesus can work no miracles through us. We find him and
his prophets too much for us. We lack faith.
May Jesus open our hearts to hear what his prophets
are saying to us – sometimes to provoke and rebuke us, at other times to
inspire and encourage us. May he also increase our faith so that we can respond
to his prophetic message and allow him to work his miracles through us.
15th Sunday of
the Year Am 7: 12-15 Mk 6: 7-13
TRAVELING LIGHTLY
In his book The
Conquest of Mexico, author William Prescott tells of the escape of Cortez
and his men from Mexico City
“Take what you want”, Cortez told his men. “But do
not overload yourselves. He travels safest who travels lightest”.
But some of the Spanish soldiers greedily loaded
themselves up with all the gold they could carry, and when they had to swim a
short distance because of a breach in the causeway, they were too weighed down
by the gold and drowned.
Cortez’s instructions to his soldiers are
reminiscent of our Lord’s to his apostles. He tells them in today’s gospel to
take nothing on their journey but a walking stick – no food, no traveling bag,
not even a coin in their belts.
In the Pelican commentary on Mark’s gospel, Dennis
Nineham points out that since the coming of the kingdom was considered
imminent, missionaries like the apostles had to travel lightly if they were
going to spread the news of the kingdom in time.
Moreover, if they provided against every
anticipated emergency with spare money and extra tunics, they would lose some
of their credibility and authenticity when they announced the nearness of God’s
kingdom.
Since most of us are never going to be missionaries
traveling off to foreign lands, and since the end – of – the world threat has
lost most of its zing even in a nuclear age, what message might the Lord be
giving us today?
Perhaps the answer lies in a key distinction
between values and strategies. A gospel value is a life – principle or guide to
good living. Examples might include faith in God as a loving Father and loving
our neighbor as ourselves.
A strategy is a method we choose to achieve that
value or to make it real in our lives. Examples would include praying to God in
order to acknowledge him as our loving Father and helping our neighbor rebuild
something of his that was destroyed by an accident.
The value Jesus holds out to us in today’s gospel
is the value of traveling lightly through
life by living too much of material things so that they get in the way of our
reaching out to God in trust to our neighbor in service.
What strategies should we use to achieve this
value? The strategies suggested by our Lord certainly do not make sense today.
Imagine Lee Iacocca traveling to an automobile seminar with a walking stick
instead of a briefcase!
So when Jesus instructs us to travel lightly as we journey through life, he’s not telling us that
we have to get rid of our cars, empty our freezes, clean out our closets or cup
up our credit cards.
But he is telling us not to let our material goods
make us forget our dependence on God or harden our hearts to the poor. He is
urging us not to become selfish with what we have so that we become insensitive
to the injustice and oppression that surround us.
We might recall here the words of St. Basil:
The bread that you store up belongs to the hungry;
The clothes that lie in your chest belong to the
needy;
And the money you have hidden in the ground belongs
to the poor.
Cortez, Jesus and Basil were right – we travel the
safest if we travel the lightest. We gain more by giving than by getting.
16th Sunday of
the Year Jr 23: 1-6 Mk 6: 30-34
TAKE TIME TO REST
Peter Ustinov almost defies description if you try
to categorize him in a career. Perhaps he is best known as a Hollywood
actor who has won two Acedemy Awards for his roles in the movies Spartacus and Topkapi, but he also has won three Emmys and a Grammy.
In addition, Peter Ustinov is an accomplished
producer, director and playwright, as well as a successful humorist, musician,
author and goodwill ambassador for the United Nations.
Nonetheless, when his activities become too much
for him, Peter Ustinov retreats to his home in Switzerland
Jesus and his apostles also had busy schedules,
something we see in today’s gospel. As they went about teaching and
ministering, people often came in such great numbers that they didn’t even have
time to eat.
So Jesus invites his apostles to: “Come by
yourselves to an out – of – the – way place and rest a while”. Much like Peter
Ustinov going off to his vineyard in Switzerland
Jesus’s invitation to find a quiet place and rest a
while is one of those timeless statements so often found in Scripture. It is an
invitation he extends in every age to every one of us.
We live in a fast – paced society. We’ve become
used to such terms as rapid transit, instant video replay and fast – food
restaurants. We’re familiar with such phenomena as super – moms, job burnout
and information overload.
Some of us get so caught up in the rhythm of this
fast – paced society, that we have trouble at times turning off the motor of
our emotions racing inside us. We rush about frantically doing so many things
and get the adrenalin flowing so rapidly, that we have difficulty calming
ourselves down.
It’s no wonder then that we have so many people who
can’t sleep restfully at night without a tranquilizer, or who can’t cope with
the stress of modern living without developing all sorts of psychosomatic
illnesses.
Our Lord’s invitation to rest is not just a pious
gesture given only to a chosen few, but an indispensable call to all of us to
find some much needed silence and solitude.
Our desert place could be anywhere we can get in
touch with the presence and peace of God – a waiting room in a doctor’s or
dentist’s office; a seat on a bus or in our car when travelling; a supermarket
checkout line or a line in a post office.
Any place where we can tune out the world’s noise
and turn to the Lord within us can be a place of rest for us. There we can
relax our bodies and ease our minds; we can sit or stand still and listen to
the Lord; we can discover deep within us new resources of strength and energy.
Unless we take time off to rest as Christ and his
disciples did, our activity will be without direction, our work will become a
drudgery and our life will lose its meaning.
We need a place and time to lay our worries before
the Lord’s and let his Spirit heal us, a place and time to sort out our
experiences and see things with greater clarity.
Peter Ustinov has his vineyard in Switzerland
17th Sunday of
the Year 2K 4: 42-44
Jn 6: 1-15
FIVE LOAVES AND TWO FISH
The Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Houston
This charismatic community has more than 350 of its
parishioners gathered together in 40 households sharing their resources and
lives. Its neighborhood outreach programs include a community center, a coffee
house, a health clinic and a literacy course.
When Fr. Schiffmeyer first came to the Episcopal
Church of the Redeemer, he worried about how they could take of all the people
who came to them: alcoholics and drug addicts looming for healing; the blind
and handicapped seeking support; clergy and religious in search of a deeper
experience of the Holy Spirit.
He asked the Lord how they were going to minister
to all these people. His answer came in today’s reading from John. In it Fr.
Schiffmeyer saw himself asking questions like those Jesus asked: “Where shall
we get bread for these people to eat? Where shall we get all the other things
they need?
Fr. Schiffmeyer also saw that, like the apostles,
his people’s resources were very limited in terms of finances, talent and time.
Figuratively speaking, all they had were five barley loaves and two dried fish.
But as he read further, Fr. Schiffmeyer also
realized that Jesus was instructing him the same way he instructed his
disciples: “Have the people sit down. Let me bless your five loaves and tow
fish. Distribute them to the crowd and they will have more than enough to
satisfy their needs”.
In other words, the Lord was telling Fr.
Schiffmeyer to trust in him to provide whatever he needed. And the Lord has
been faithful to his promise/ he never sends to the pastor more people than his
parishioners can minister to at any one time, always provides enough financial
support for them to carry out their projects, and gives them sufficient time to
renew themselves through rest, prayer and song.
Indeed, the Lord Jesus has multiplied their bread
and fish. And he does the same for us. Sometimes we too feel overwhelmed as the
Lord sends all kinds of people to us: an unloved teenager, an aging parent, a
frustrated friend, a depressed neighbor. We look at our resources and cry out:
“Lord, I don’t have enough time for them; I don’t know how to help them. Where
shall I go to get what they need?”
But Jesus says: “Trust in me. Just give me your
five loaves and two fish, and I will multiply them for you”. And somehow he
does.
Scripture commentator William Barclay says that the
little boy with his five loaves and two fish did not have much to offer, and
yet out of what he had, Jesus found the materials for a miracle. Barclay
writes:
The fact of
life is that Jesus needs what we can bring him. We may not have much to bring but
he needs what we have. Little is always much in the hands of Christ.
Understood this way, the miracle of the
multiplication of loaves and fish has meaning for today. The miracle continues
through us every time we give ourselves in faith to the Lord.
He takes our limited resources, blesses them,
multiplies them and distributes them to his people, and paradoxically, we find
that we still have more than enough left over for ourselves – either in psychic
satisfaction, a sense of fulfillment or inner peace.
The right question to ask of the Lord is not,
“Where shall we find this or that?” Instead, we should ask, “What is it I have
that you want to multiply?”
18th Sunday of
the Year E16: 2-4, 12-15 Jn 6: 24-35
BREAD
Dr. Robert Haas is a nutrition consultant for a
dozen professional athletes, including tennis star Martina Navratilova. His
book Eat to Win: The Sports Nutrition
Bible, stresses complex carbohydrates and downplays protein and fats.
Dr. Haas says that 60-80% of an athlete’s diet
should consist of complex carbohydrate foods such as cereals, fresh fruits,
vegetables, spaghetti and whole – grain breads. The advantage of complex
carbohydrates is that they decrease toxic wastes which make us sluggish and
increase our available energy level. Marathon
runners use these foods to load up with glycogen for stamina at the end of a
race.
Whole – grain breads are one of the key components
in such a diet. Bread also plays an important role in the way God nourishes his
people.
In today’s first reading from Exodus, the
Israelites grumble in the desert because of their hunger. So God rains down
bread form heaven for them in the form of manna.
In John’s gospel, Jesus identifies himself as the
real heavenly bread: “I myself am the bread of life. No one who comes to me shall
ever be hungry. No one who believes in me shall thirst again”.
The Exodus text and John’s gospel are related to
each other as type and anti – type. Jesus is the new heavenly bread sent by God
– a bread that is imperishable, is all – satisfying and gives eternal life.
From her reflections on the Eucharist, Sr. John
Vianney Vranak gives us the following insights. The Latin root for bread is pan. We still remember the famous Latin
hymn by St. Thomas Aquinas, Panis
Angelicus (Bread of Angels). In the Slavic languages the word pan means Lord. For example, in Polish
we say Pan Jezus for Lord Jesus.
Pursuing the word further into its Greek origins, pan means all or every. For examples, we
are familiar with such words as panacea for cure – all, Pan – Am Airlines or
Panasonic radios. Still another meaning for the word pan comes from its French connection. The French word for bread is pain, a direct derivative of the Latin pan, but with a new dimension added
because of our English word “pain” meaning suffering or hurt.
All these connotations of the word pan converge in the Eucharist in a
marvelous manner. Jesus gives himself to us under the form of bread. The bread of angels becomes the
bread of man. Jesus is our Lord, the
one sent by God, the one on whom the Father has set his seal.
In the Eucharist we find all fulfilment. Whoever believes in the Lord will never be hungry
or thirsty again. Jesus paid the price of pain
when he gave his life for us on the cross. The Eucharist is the memorial of
his passion.
No wonder we praise God in Psalm 147 for “filling
us with the best of wheat”. No wonder the hymn, “Gift of Finest Wheat”, has
become so popular since its composition in 1976 for the International
Eucharistic Congress.
Sr. John Vianney points out that while the word finest ordinarily means “the best
quality”, it can also mean “most pulverized”. Both senses are true of the
Eucharist. The pulverizing of the grains of wheat to make quality bread is a
symbol of the suffering Jesus experienced in his passion.
In this context, we can’t help but recall the
following statement by St. Ignatius of Antioch
According to modern nutritionists like Dr. Haas, we
need daily bread to keep us healthy, active and strong. We also need the bread
of the Eucharist to nourish our spirits, strengthen us in times of trial and
fulfill all our deepest yearnings.
19th Sunday of
the Year 1K 19: 4-8 Jn 6: 41-51
LIVING BREAD
In the movie E.T.
there are a couple of scenes involving food. Early in the film the young
boy leaves some M&M candy for E.T – a symbolic gesture of his willingness
to be friends with E.T. In another scene, while the young boy’s family is away
from home, E.T. raids the refrigerator to find some food and drink.
These scenes in E.T.
are not only heartwarming and humorous, but they also emphasize how food
and drink are an absolute necessity for life – whether we are human or extra –
terrestrial in our life form.
Food and drink are a theme in today’s readings.
In the first reading from the book of Kings, Elijah
is given food and drink by an angel. Strengthened by that nourishment he is
able to walk for forty days dang forty nights to the Mountain of God
In the gospel, Jesus claims that he himself is the
bread of life come down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread he will never
die. The bread he gives is his own flesh for the life of the world.
Almost as if to make sure we don’t miss the
connection between his bread and life, Jesus uses the words life or living five times in the last five verses. Do we fully realize what
a fantastic claim he is making?
If we eat the bread of his Eucharist we shall never
die, but live forever. We won’t be strengthened just to travel forty days and
nights like Elijah did. We will be able to walk with the Lord forever. We won’t
be kept alive just to complete a football training camp for a month or to
finish a vacation trip somewhere. We will live forever.
If only we would taste and see for ourselves the
goodness of the Lord in the bread of the Eucharist, then we would experience
all the blessings promised in today’s Psalm 34: we would be delivered from all
our fears, especially our fear of death; we would be saved from all our
distress, whether mental worries or physical ailments; we would be made radiant
with joy, especially when we love and serve one another.
These blessings are not something we have to wait
for until we reach heaven. As the bread of life, Jesus comes down from heaven
to us here and now. He is the living bread to be eaten now, not preserved in a
freezer for the future.
Notice that Jesus does not say: “He who believes in
me will receive eternal life”.
Rather, he says: “He who believes in me has
eternal life”. In other words, by eating his Eucharist bread we are already
in possession of eternal life. Our life in heaven is already begun here on
earth.
Does this sound too good to be true? Can Jesus
really do this for us? The answers are in the gospel. Jesus says: “Stop your
wondering: let me firmly assure you – I
am the bread of life”.
There is no reason then for us to get discouraged
and pray for death as Elijah did. Christ commands us to get up and eat and
continue our journey – whether it means staying on our job, in school or with
our marriage partner.
There is no reason for us to be frustrated, trying
foolishly to find fulfillment in things like drugs or drink or sex or money.
Jesus is the bread of life – not life in a superficial sense, but life in its
deepest sense; not life that is passing, but life that lasts forever.
Thank the Lord for giving us his own flesh to be
our bread of life. May his example inspire us to give ourselves too for the
life of the world, to be ourselves the bread that others can feed on to find
the fullness of life.
20th Sunday of
the Year Pr 9: 1-6 Jn 6:
51-58
THE GOOD OF LIFE
The world of advertising often appeals to our basic
human needs for food and drink. Television commercials like Wendy’s “Where’s
the beef?” cater to our hunger for food. Magazine ads with slogans like Coca –
Cola’s “It’s the real thing” claim that their drink will satisfy our thirst.
The whole express purpose of advertisers is to sell
us the good life by promising that
their products will satisfy our every desire. We might say that today’s
readings make their own sales pitch for the good
life, except that they speak about life in a higher sense.
In the first reading from Proverbs, Wisdom invites
us to come to her table where we can eat her food and drink her wine. She calls
us to forsake foolishness that we may life and advance in the way of
understanding.
In the gospel, Jesus says that he himself gives
life to the world. His flesh is real food and his blood is real drink. Anyone
who eats his flesh and drinks his blood will live forever.
In his Pelican commentary on this text, John Marsh
underlines the meaning of the adjective real
in the phrases real food and real drink:
These are what
satisfy those hungers and thirst from which men suffer in distinction from all
other earthly creatures. Man’s genuine nourishment lies in them; without them
the really “human” person dies, even though he continues to live in the flesh,
but with them he lives the life that is really life both here in the course of
history and in that which lies beyond history in the world to come.
We can better appreciate Marsh’s insight if we
compare of the extravagant claims of advertisers to satisfy our needs for this
life with the claims of Christ to give us life in a higher sense.
Since we have a need for the pleasures of oral
gratification, many of us want to have our “Winstons taste good like a
cigarette should”. But there are also spiritual delights which today’s Psalm 34
addresses when it says: “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord”.
From time to time we have a need to escape from
boredom and monotony. So to answer our need we have airline ads like United’s
beckoning us to “Fly away in our friendly skies”.
Yet when we are weary, only the Lord can really
refresh us in the fullest sense: “Come to me, all you who labor and are
overburdened, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11: 28).
We naturally seek security and protection for
ourselves and our families. So insurance companies like Prudential propose to
give us a “Piece of the Rock” of security.
Nonetheless, only Jesus can promise and guarantee
us eternal life: “The man who feeds on this bread shall live forever”.
It seems that no matter what our basic needs are,
advertisers claim they have the product or service to provide for them. Yet,
contrary to their claims, what they offer is not the real thing at all, but only an illusion, a fantasy, a substitute.
To verify this, for example, a male customer need only compare his car on a
cold winter morning with the television model accompanied by a warm female.
Advertisers shout about the essentials of life, but
offer things that are merely superficial. It is only Christ who can show us how
to really live and to live more
abundantly.
What Jesus gives in the Eucharist is not an
illusion. It is real food and real drink. What Jesus gives is not something
superficial. It is his own body and his own blood. What Jesus gives is not a
temporary gratification. It is a life that will last forever.
21st Sunday of
the Year Os 2: 1-2, 15-18 Jn 6: 60-69
COMMITMENTS
The movie Lady
Sings the Blues tells the life story of singer Billie Holliday. To play the
role of Billie Holliday, singer Diana Ross spent almost nine months reading
clippings about Billie, sifting through pictures of her and listening over and
over again to her recorded songs. Diana Ross also researched Billie’s era of
fame, the 1930’s and 1940’s, and the drug addiction that tragically ended her
career.
Diana Ross said:
I was committed
to doing a good job on the film because so many people loved and admired Billie
Holliday. So I spent a lot of time listening and kind of feeling her music. I
tried very hard to know her as much as I could, so I could let it come out in
the songs I sang.
Diana Ross’ motion picture debut in Lady Sings the Blues was a huge success,
not only because of the powerful story it told about Billie Holliday, but also
because of Diana Ross’ commitment to honor a singer she admired very much.
Commitment is one of the subjects of today’s
readings.
In the first reading, Joshua and his people commit
themselves to serve the Lord their God, for he it is who delivered them from
slavery.
In the gospel, Jesus questions his disciples about
their commitment to him: “Do you want to leave me?” Simon Peter answers: “Lord,
to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We are convinced that
you are God’s holy one”.
What does commitment mean to us in an age of rapid
electronic change?
First, consider how a commitment is based on a
promise to do something in the future. Even though we cannot foresee the
inevitable difficulties that will arise, we promise to find, if possible,
solutions to them. By our promise we forbid ourselves to take the easy way out
when a crisis comes up.
For example, in marriage there will be unavoidable
conflicts which a couple cannot anticipate. Nonetheless, their public
commitment to each other is declaration of their determination to overcome
these conflicts as they arise.
Second, a commitment is made to persons and not to
institutions. It is a relationship established with real people and not with
abstract organizations. Thus a teacher says to his students or an employer to
his workers: “You can count on me when troubles arise. You can trust in me in
spite of the uncertainties of the future”.
In other words, a bond of justice is established
with others, and we no longer have the right to consider our actions only our
own. They belong also to others to whom we are committed.
Third, a commitment requires a response on our
part. It is easy to make a promise in a moment of enthusiasm. It is difficult
to carry it out when a crisis comes up.
Yet, if our commitment is to have any meaning, we
must respond to the crisis with determination, creativity and generosity. A
commitment demands that we discover, insofar as it is possible, a solution to
the difficulties. Otherwise we stay in a state of narcissism.
As William James said: “A mature individual commits
himself to something larger than the service of his own little ego.” In other
words, commitments carry us out of the vicious circle of self-seeking into the
service of people who need our love.
Diana Ross made a commitment to honor Billie
Holliday in the movie Lady Sings the
Blues, and so she did all the hard work necessary to live up to that commitment.
Joshua in the Old Testament and the apostles in the
New Testament made a commitment to follow the Lord, and so they were ready to
make sacrifices necessary to carry out their promises.
How committed are we to the Lord? How far are we
willing to go with him?
22nd Sunday of the YearDt 4: 1-8
Mk 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23
LOVE IN ACTION
In Albert Camus’ novel The Fall, the central figure is a nameless lawyer who tells his
life story to a stranger he meets in a Dutch bar. The anonymous lawyer relates
how he had always prided himself on being a selfless servant of humanity, a
noble man of virtue and generosity.
But then one dark rainy midnight, something
happened to shatter his self – righteous image. As he was walking home over a
bridge, he passed by a slim young woman leaning over the rail and staring into
the river. Stirred by the sight of her, he hesitated a moment, and then walked
on.
After crossing the bridge he heard a body striking
the water, a cry repeated several times, and then the midnight silence again.
he wanted to do something to save her, but he stood there motionless for a
while and then went home.
This nameless lawyer in Camus’s story reminds us in
some ways of the Pharisees in today’s gospel. The Pharisees were experts in the
law and prided themselves on their scrupulous observance of it. And yet Jesus
castigates them for their hypocrisy by quoting the prophet Isaiah: “This people
pays me lip service but their heart is far from me”.
The lawyer in Camus’s story also comes under the
judgment of James in the second reading (Jm 1: 17-27). He had listened to God’s
word about loving one’s neighbor, but was unable to act on it. He had deceived
himself into thinking that he was a selfless servant.
In contrast to the nameless lawyer in Camus’ story,
there are two lawyers in the Detroit area, namely, Jim Raftery and Phil Tanian,
who have heard “the silent screams” of the unborn and have gone out of their
way to defend the rights of the unborn against abortion. These men have heard
God’s word through the cry of the poor and have acted on it.
Today we are the ones crossing over the bridge to
encounter the living word of God in Scripture – his commandments, his law, his
precepts. If all we do is listen to the word without letting it penetrate our
hearts and move us to action, then we are no better than the Pharisees in the
gospel or the lawyer in Camus’s story.
This does not mean that we have to run around
rescuing everyone about to commit suicide or every child about to be aborted.
But it does mean that we recognize and respond to opportunities to help people
who we meet on our particular bridge – the unemployed neighbor, the troubled
teenager or the neglected shut – in.
As we cross our bridges, we cannot pretend that we
do not see the oppressed in Central America, the hungry in India or the victims of racism in South Africa
Someone once wrote: “Do not display your religion
in a window of pretense. The real test is to keep a large stock in your soul”.
It doesn’t matter what image we use – the window
and the stockroom, listening and doing, or lips and heart – the Scriptures
confront us today to urge us to consider how we keep our Lord’s commandments.
Are we content like the Pharisees or Camus’s lawyer
to merely observe in them what we find convenient, self – serving and safe? Or
are we willing, like Jim Raftery and Phil Tanian, to tackle the main issues of
the commandments, take on responsibility and assume some risks?
The choice is ours. We will tiptoe through life
merely paying lip service to God and man, or will we step out and put our whole
heart into what we do for God and man?
23rd Sunday of
the Year Is 35:
4-7 Mk 7: 31-37
THE TOUCH OF HIS HAND
There is a poem by Myra Brooks Welch called “The
touch of the Master’s Hand.” In this poem she tells the story of an old dusty
violin being auctioned. The violin is about to be sold for a mere $3 when a
gray – haired man steps forward, picks it up, dusts if off and begins to play.
The man plays such sweet music on the violin that
when he finishes, the bidding jumps into the thousands of dollars. What changed
its value? What transformed the ole dusty violin into a precious instrument? The touch of the Master’s hand.
This is one of the themes of today’s readings.
In this first from Isaiah, the touch of the Master’s hand transforms the land and the lives of
the Jews in exile. The burning sands of the desert become springs of water. The
frightened become strong, the blind see, de deaf hear, de dumb sig and the lame
leap.
In the gospel, the
touch of the Master’s hand is none other than the touch of Jesus himself. A
deaf and dumb man is brought to him. Jesus puts his finger into the man’s ear
and touches his tongue with spittle. Immediately the man is able to hear and to
speak.
This same touch of our divine Master’s hand
continues to transform our lives today. Our brothers and sisters are the people
who bring us into the presence of Christ so that his power can operate on us.
The sacraments are extensions of Christ’s hands reaching out to touch and heal
us. Scripture is the extension of his words of encouragement to us.
Consider some of the ways Christ heals our
infirmities. How many times do we close our eyes in blindness to the hunger of
people in Africa, to the plight of earthquake victims in Mexico , or to the injustice among the migrant
farm workers in the United
States
How many times do we turn a deaf ear to cries of
frustration from people victimized by inflation to the cries of loneliness from
teenagers hooked on drugs, or to the cries of hurt from people we have injured?
How many times do we keep our tongue silent when we
should speak boldly in defense of the unborn and the handicapped, of honesty in
government and business, and of chastity in entertainment?
But by the touch of his hand Jesus opens our eyes,
unstops our ears and loosens our tongues. He changes our hearts so that we can
be more sensitive to the needs of others.
Under his transforming power we become his
instruments to accomplish the marvelous works described in today’s Psalm 146:
to secure justice for the oppressed, give food to the hungry and set captives
free.
Christ not only touches us with his hands but also
uses our hands to touch others: to sustain the fatherless and the widow,
protect the stranger and raise up those that are bowed down.
During this Eucharist, thank the Lord for making
the prophetic vision of Isaiah a reality for us. Praise him for translating
these poetic verses of Myra Brooks Welch into a personal experience for us:
And many a man with life out of tune,
And battered and scarred with sin,
Is auctioned cheap, to a thoughtless crowd,
Much like the old violin.
But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd.
Never can understand.
The worth of a soul, and the change that’s wrought
By the Touch of the Master’s Hand.
24th Sunday of
the Year Is 50: 4 - 9
Mk 8: 27-35
RUNNING BRAVE
The firm Running
Brave traces the life of Billy Mills from the time he was a little boy on
the Indian reservation until the time he stunned the world by winning the
10,000 meter race at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo
On the one hand, thee word running in the title can be taken as a verb indicating action. The
word brave then becomes an adverb
indicating how the running was done. In this sense, Running Brave tells the story of how Billy Mills used running to
overcome obstacles of prejudice, homesickness and discouragement.
On the other hand, the word running can be considered and adjective modifying the noun brave. Here the emphasis is on his Sioux
Indian ancestry. He was a brave who also liked to run.
In either sense, the film Running Brave shows what determination can achieve in spite of
seemingly insurmountable obstacles. To prove that he was not the “quitter” he
had been labeled and to win his gold medal, Billy Mills had to run the race in
borrowed shoes and he had to come from behind after being bumped off the track.
Today’s readings show us another man whose
determination overcame what seemed to be insurmountable obstacles.
In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah tells us
how to recognize the Messiah. In spite of his sufferings, the Messiah will be
the one who will not turn back from
his course. Instead, he will set his face like flint and go on to achieve his
purpose.
In the gospel, Jesus is identified as a Messiah.
Even though his journey to Jerusalem
We have here a picture of a man who knows what
awaits him – painful death – and yet will not allow himself to be deterred from his set path. Jesus can
already see before him the cross on Calvary ,
and yet he will not let himself quit his messianic task.
To be a disciple of Jesus, then, means that we
cannot allow ourselves to quit whenever some cross confronts us. Instead, as
Jesus says, we have to take up that cross and resolutely follow in his steps.
Whether our cross is unfair treatment by other,
loneliness or discouragement – a cross Billy Mills had to carry when he was a
college student – or whether it is the loss of our health, our job or someone
we love – a cross we read about in the papers every day – if we are to be truly
Christian, then we cannot allow ourselves to quit carrying that cross.
Instead, we have to believe that God is near to
uphold us and is indeed our help, and that we will not only survive, but we
will also overcome and triumph. After all, we have our Lord’s own promise that
even though we may lose something – perhaps even our life – in the end we will
save it, provided we are faithful and don’t give up.
Jesus himself had to lose his life and die, but
three days later he overcame the grave and rose from the dead.
There is a popular Protestant hymn that summarizes
what it means to be a determined and resolute Christian. A couple of its verses
read:
The cross before me, the world behind me.
No turning back, no turning back.
Though none go with me, still I will follow.
No turning back, no turning back.
25th Sunday of the Year Ws 21,7-20
Mk 9: 30-37
MORTALITY
Dr. Leon Kass is a Univerity of Chicago
philosopher, biologist and medical doctor. In his book Toward a More Natural Science: Biology and Human Affairs, Dr. Kass
has an essay about mortality making life matter. Since contemporary science
continually seeks to control aging a prolong life. Dr. Kass asks and intriguing
question. Suppose science could defeat death and extend life indefinitely. What
would we lose?
Dr. Kass examines Homer’s immortals and finds them
to be merely spectators of the great moral dramas of life. Indeed, Homer’s immortals
are beautiful and youthful, but they are also shallow and frivolous. Since they
never have to face death, they miss meeting some of life’s supreme challenges.
In contrast, the limits of time imposed by
mortality make us take life more seriously. The sense of not having enough time
is a spur to selecting the more important things in life.
Realizing that we don’t have forever, we are less
likely to waste so much of our time on passing trivia. Instead, we will use
more of our time to pursue the enduring transcendentals of goodness, beauty and
truth. Mortality also gives us a sense of urgency. When we have too much time
on our hands, we tend to put off doing what is difficult. But if we know that
we have only a limited measure of time left, we tend to work more
energetically. Mortality is a great motivator for achievement. Maybe our Lord’s
sense of his own mortality is what was on his mind in today’s gospel. For the
second time in Marks’s gospel he predicts his passion, death and resurrection.
And again his disciples fail to understand.
The contrast is inescapable.
On the one hand, the disciples seem to think that
they have a lot of time left with our Lord and that he will be around for many
hears. Consequently, they are preoccupied with trivial – they spend hours
arguing among themselves about who is the most important.
On the other hand, Jesus knows that his time on
earth is rapidly running out and that he will soon have to leave his disciples.
Consequently, he is preoccupied with teaching them about what really matters in
life. Last week it was about taking up one’s cross with courage and not
compromising one’s ideals. This week it is about humility, selfless sacrifice
and seeing the Lord’s presence in people.
Knowing that one day we are going to die, then,
should not depress us. On the contrary, it should spur us on to use wisely what
little time we have left. What unattained objectives do we have that we should
still pursue? What postponed visits do we still have to make? What good deeds
have we delayed doing that we should accomplish?
Realizing our mortality should not make us sad but
more selective. Of all the things we can do with our time, what are really the
most important ones? Is it something to do with our self – improvement, self –
image or health? Or perhaps with our family, friends or fellow workers? Or
possibly with God in terms of reconciliation or prayer?
Why waste our precious little time on trivia, when
we can spend it on things that really matter?
There is a rhyme which reads:
He slept beneath the moon,
He basked beneath the sun,
He lived a life of going to do,
And died with nothing done.
Like our Lord before us, we are going to die and
leave this life. Do we understand this? Do we feel impelled to do something
worthwhile with the little tie we have left?
26th Sunday of the Year Nb11, 25-29
Mk 9: 38-43, 45, 47-48
NAME POWER
The power of a name to sell is seen in the world of
marketing. If a bottle of wine has the
reputable name of Ernest and Julio Gallo on its label, it will sell. If bottles
of beer have the long respected Stroh’s signature, they will sell.
The power of a name to attract is seen in the way
names of celebrities are used. If Lee Iacoca’s name appears on the book cover,
it will grab our attention. Fi Bruce Springsteen’s name in one a marquee, it
will draw a crowd.
A name also has power to influence. If you get the
right name on a letter of reference, you might get a jog you’re seeking. If you
have the right names to promote some cause, your movement has a better chance
to succeed.
The power of the name of Jesus comes up in today’s
gospel. John complains to Jesus that someone not of their group was using our
Lord’s name to expel demons. Instead of backing up John’s efforts to stop this
man, Jesus seems to approve of such people working miracles in his name, as
long as they are doing good works.
In his commentary on Mark’s gospel, William Barclay
points out that in the time of Jesus everyone believed that demons were the
cause of all their physical and mental illnesses. A common way to exorcise
demons was to use the name of a more powerful spirit. This ancient belief
continues in our own day.
In the movie, The
Exorcist, the priest called in to expel the demon from the young girl uses
the name of Jesus. Healers like Kathryn Kuhlman, Oral Roberts and Fr. Ralph
DiOrio use the name of Jesus when they pray over people.
Yet, in spite of these contemporary Christian
expressions of an ancient religious belief, most of us suffer from a failure in
confidence in the power of the name of Jesus. While unbelievers are not ashamed
to misuse the name of Jesus in expressions of slang, vulgarity or cursing,
believers hesitate to call on the name of Jesus in times of temptation, trial
or necessity.
We seem to have lost our nerve, or perhaps even our
faith. What we need is a revival of the ancient Christian custom of invoking
the name o Jesus in prayer. We need to recall what some of the early Fathers of
the Church wrote about the power of that name.
For example, in his classic sermon on the Holy Name,
St. Bernard compared the name of Jesus to ole. He wrote:
Oil give light,
nourishes, and anoints. Oil feeds the flame, sustains the body, and eases pain.
It is light, food, and medicine. The same may be said of the name of Jesus. It
throws light on what is preached, it nourishes our thoughts, and it heals the
troubled.
If names like Gallo Wines and Stroh’s Beer move us
to buy products, then why shouldn’t the name of Jesus move us to fight racism
and defend human rights, or to resist tyranny and support freedom?
If the names of Lee Iacocca and Bruce Springsteen
have such power over us, then why shouldn’t the name of Jesus make a stronger
impact on our lives – in what we think, in what we say, in what we do?
Invoking the name of Jesus is not a magical trick, and
yet miracles have happened in that name. Using the name of Jesus is not a
superstitious practice, but rather a sacramental which bring us God’s grace.
Perhaps our Lord’s message today is: “Don’t stop
using may name to do good. Use it more so that its power can become more
operative in your life”.
27th Sunday of
the Year Gn 2: 18-24 Mk 10: 2-16
MARRIAGE MODEL
The
Rules of Marriage is a made for TV movie featuring
Elliott Gould as Mike and Elizabeth Montgomery as Joan. After fifteen years of
marriage and two children, Mike and Joan begin the painful process of getting a
divorce. The film focuses not so much on adultery as the immediate cause of the
divorce, but more on the husband – wife relationship and attitudes that
gradually led to this event.
As Mike and Joan initiate the divorce proceedings,
they begin to see how they treated each other as object instead of a person. He
treated her as dutiful housekeeper and as a showpiece at parties. She treated
him as a mere bread – winner and as a sex partner.
Both had unreasonable expectations of each other
and placed impossible burdens on each other. Never able to really accept each
other as they were, they demanded more and more of each other without giving
more and more of themselves.
How their story ended we will see later. For now,
let us look at what today’s readings have to say about marriage.
In the first reading from Genesis, we heard the
creation story of man and woman. Since its literary form is that of religious
myth, many of its details are not important in themselves, but only as imagery to make a point, teach a lesson
or reveal a truth.
Thus ti is not Adam’s sightseeing of the animals at
God’s zoo that is significant, but the fact that men and women need each other
as suitable partner without whom they are in some sense incomplete and suffer
from loneliness. It is not the Genesis
rib sculpturing that should concern us, but rather the view that men and women
share equally the same human nature symbolized by the bone and flesh.
Nor is the physical problem of how two bodies can
occupy one space an issue, but rather how some men and women are destined to
live together so closely in relationship we call marriage that they can be said to form one body.
From this marriage model in Genesis, we move to the
gospel where Jesus is questioned about divorce. Jesus goes beyond the
permissive stance assumed by Moses at one point in history to what God intended
from the very beginning of time as the ideal marriage relationship.
There is no compromise on what Jesus holds out as
the ultimate and ideal goal of marriage – two people should become one flesh;
what God has joined let no man separate; whoever divorces and remarries commits
adultery.
Ideally, then, a marriage should be marked by unity – a total sharing of body, mind
and spirit; and it should be permanent relationship
– till death do us part.
But we don’t live in an ideal world. We live in a
real world where too often selfishness overpowers love, taking dominates
giving, and some marriages end in divorce. What does Jesus have to say about
that?
To answer this, recall how Jesus condemned
adultery, but forgave the woman caught in adultery; how he showed compassion
toward the Samaritan woman at the well who had lived with five husbands; and
how he gave Peter a new start after Peter had denied him and run away.
Do we continue to strive for ideal marriages? Yes,
with all our resources. Do we condemn divorced people whose marriage fell short
of the ideal? No, we condemn divorce but not the divorcee. We deal with the
divorcee the way Jesus would – by balancing law with love, firmness with
forgiveness and principles with practice.
How did the movie The Rules of Marriage end? To save their marriage Mike and Joan
agreed on one rule between them – to feel
safe. It was their way of saying that they would be more open and honest
and show more understanding and trust. They would begin again to make the ideal
real by becoming two in one flesh.
28th Sunday of the Year Ws 7: 7-1
Mk 10: 17-30
SELL WHAT YOU HAVE
Jean Vanier is internationally recognized as a
humanitarian because of his care for the retarded. The son of a former Governor
General of Canada , he served
for a while as an officer in the Canadian Navy and later taught at the University of St. Michael ’s
College in Toronto
But then he left behind all his family wealth and
comfortable lifestyle to establish a family – type home for the retarded which
he named L’ Arche. His hope was that
it would be an Ark
Jean Vanier is a modern – day St. Francis of Assisi
Unlike the young man in the gospel to whom Jesus
spoke, Jean Vanier did not go away sad. On the contrary, he has found immense
happiness through his life of simplicity in living with the retarded.
In his talks, Jean Vanier loves to tell how the
retarded have taught him to rediscover the joy of ordinary things like playing
games together, and to appreciate more the present moment instead of worrying
about the future.
In putting aside everything to follow Jesus among
the retarded, Jean Vanier has personally experienced what Jesus meant when he
promised to give a hundredfold to his disciples even in this life: an inner
peace in contrast to the anxiety and restlessness of the world; a deep feeling
of fulfillment in the midst of so many lives empty of meaning; an interior joy
which seems to escape those who frantically chase after cheap thrills.
The existential questions confronting us in today’s
gospel are: What must we do to follow Jesus? What is the one thing more the
Lord is asking of us?
For most of us, the answer is obviously not to give
away everything we have to the poor. But it might be to continue our support of
relief funds, mission work and the Catholic Services Appeal. For most of us,
the agenda will not include leaving our home and family. But it might mean
keeping up our efforts to provide homes for refugees, employment for the
jobless and protection for the defenseless.
In other words, the gospel is challenging us to re
– examine our values. Have material riches replaced spiritual ones in our
homes? Has the television set pushed out prayer time in our lives? Have excess
use of alcohol and cigarettes desensitized us to the movements of God in our
spirits?
The primary purpose of the gospel is not to make us
feel guilty about what we have, but to lead us to reflect seriously on what our
priorities are.
For example, do we have to let go of some of our
work and outside involvements in order to spend more time with our family? Do
we have to sacrifice some of the luxuries we surround ourselves with, in order
to open our hearts more to the plight of the poor? Do we have to turn off some
of the noise of today’s tapes and records in order to hear the sound of God’s
voice?
Indeed, how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God
Why go away sad today because we won’t let go of
the one thing more the Lord wants from us? Why not go away happy like Jean
Vanier, believing that no matter how much we let go for the Lord, he will
always give us back a hundredfold?
29th Sunday of
the Year Is 53: 10-11 Mk 10: 35-45
TRUE GREATNESS
Nobel prizes are awarded every year in literature,
economics and science. People who have made outstanding contributions in these
fields are given due recognition for their achieved greatness.
Excellence is recognized in the sport world, too.
For example, when Pete Rose surpassed Ty Cobb’s record number of hits in 1985,
he assured himself a place in baseball’s Hall of Fame.
We all aspire to greatness in some form or other.
It is a desire which our Lord addresses in today’s gospel.
The brothers James and John approach Jesus with
their own idea of greatness – to sit at his right hand and his left when he
comes into his kingdom, a sort of instant – success notion of greatness.
But Jesus has other ideas about greatness.
Greatness begins with a cup of suffering and a baptism of pain. Greatness is
achieved through service.
We have here another reversal of values for which
Jesus is famous. “The first shall be last,” “He who loses his life shall save
it,” and “He who humbles himself shall be exalted” are other examples of how
Jesus often reverses our values.
Greatness through suffering and service is not
exactly a popular notion today. Greatness through making a lot of money or by
drawing huge crowds at a rock concert seems to be today’s standard.
But if we look deeper into enduring examples of
greatness, we see that the Lord is right. Alexander the Great was a remarkable
leader because he stood by his men in battle. Albert the Great was an
intellectual giant because he disciplined himself for study. Beethoven was a
master composter because he struggled long hours to get the right note. Martin
Luther was a great reformer because he persisted in spite of opposition.
True greatness was achieved by these men because
they were willing to make sacrifices to realize their vision. They attained
their goals because they were able to endure disappointments along the way.
So if we are aspiring to greatness in some area, we
have to be able to suffer sometimes, put up with pain, whether physical or
emotional, and overcome obstacles. Moreover, if we aspire to higher forms of
greatness in terms of what makes us truly human and holy, then we have to be
willing to serve others and even to lay down our lives for them.
The word serve
might bother us a little because we commonly associate it with activity
that is menial or demeaning. But the sense in which our Lord uses the term service includes any act that is noble
and unselfish, any gesture that affirms and encourages someone, and any deed
that is done with kindness and generosity.
Understood this way, people who are achieving
greatness in God’s eyes are: parents who raise their children according to
Christian values; teachers who inspire students to high ideals; doctors and
nurses who heal and care for the sick; volunteers who visit shut – ins; neighbors
whom we can call in any emergency.
In closing, we might say that James and John were
acting like wimps when they went after an easy, suffering – free, false kind of
greatness. Pray that we might be real men and real women who aspire to genuine
greatness – a greatness that has a God – magnitude about it – the giving of
service and even our lives for others.
30th Sunday of
the Year Jr 31: 7-9 Mk 10: 46-52
TRANSFORMATIONS
The musical Let
Miserables is based on the epic novel by Victor Hugo and dramatizes the
adventures of Jean Valjean. After serving nineteen years in prison for stealing
some bread to help his sister’s starving child, Jean Valjean is paroled.
Unable to find work, Valjean steals from a priest,
who in turn lies to save him from being sent back to prison. Given a second
chance, Jean Valjean undergoes a moral and social transformation; he takes a
new name, becomes wealthy, befriends a dying prostitute, raises her orphan and
twice risks everything he’s gained to save others.
What the Lord did through the priest for Jean
Valjean is similar to what he did for Bartimaeus in the gospel. Both Valijean
and Bartimaeus were nobodies – social outcasts. But when Jesus entered their
lives, they became somebodies – his disciples.
Mark’s story about Bartimaeus is like a dramatic
one – act play with seven scenes, namely, the seven verses.
In the first verse, Jesus is leaving Jericho for his final journey to Jerusalem
In the second verse, Bartimaeus hears that Jesus of
Nazareth
In the third verse, the people callously rebuke him
for bothering the Master and for making himself a public nuisance. But
Bartimaeus refuses to be intimidated by them and he shouts after Jesus all the
louder.
In the fourth verse, Jesus stops and calls for him.
Here Jesus is on his way to die, and yet he stops to help a nobody. Perhaps
Jesus takes time to stop to show that this blind beggar is really a somebody, a
person worthy of our respect and care.
Do we stop sometimes when we are doing what seems
so urgent to assist somebody who is hurting? Or who just needs a little
attention? Or who only wants to be appreciated?
In the fifth verse, Bartimaeus respond to our
Lord’s call with abandon and enthusiasm. He doesn’t pile up his cloak neatly –
he throws it away! He doesn’t get up hesitantly – he jumps with joy!
Compare that with our own response to the Lord. Too
often our response is lazy and lethargic instead of being done with energy and
alacrity, or with expectation and anticipation.
In the sixth verse, Jesus asks Bartimaeus: “What do
you want me to do for you?” It is a key question that is asked of all of us
whenever we approach Jesus in prayer. May our answer always be: “Lord, that we
may see in areas where we are blind because of selfishness; or hear where we
are deaf to the cries of pain around us.”
Finally, in the seventh verse, Jesus confirms the
blind man’s faith with a cure. But instead of going his own way as Jesus
instructed, Bartimaeus follows Jesus up the road. What a challenge to us!
When we receive a gift from the Lord, do we go our
own way and use it only for ourselves? Or do we sometimes go up the road with
Jesus to share it with other people who may need more help than we do?
Many are the times Jesus has stopped to take notice
of us and to transform us. When we were nobodies, he made us somebodies. When
we were sick spiritually, he made us whole. When we were down, he lifted us up.
Can we in turn stop more often to ask people: “What
can I do for you? How can I be of help?”
31st Sunday of
the Year Dt 6: 2-6 Mk 12: 28-34
WHOLE BEING
Alexander Blake’s book The Nureyev Image describes how totally committed Rudolf Nureyev is
to dancing. According to Nureyev himself, ballet has become his whole life, his
only “avenue of fulfillment”.
Blake writes the following about Nureyev’s
dedication to his art:
For its sake he
has fought and sweated, suffered, quarreled, insulted and borne insults,
schemed, dreamed and made bitter sacrifices. It takes priority in his life over
everything and everybody; his loyalty to it is unquestioning. It is both the
means of his living and the end.
The way Rudolf Nureyev loves dancing and dedicates
his whole life to it gives us and inkling of what today’s readings teach about
how we should love God: “You shall love
the Lord, your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all
your strength”.
This text from Deuteronomy is quoted by our Lord in
Mark’s gospel. It is called the shema, the
Hebrew imperative meaning “hear”, or “pay attention”. The shema constitutes the basic creed of Judaism. It is recited every
day by pious Jews and it is their last utterance when they die.
By quoting the shema
Jesus declares that it is also the foundation of his own faith and
devotion. But then Jesus goes beyond the shema.
He combines it with Leviticus 19:18 – the verse about loving one’s neighbor
as oneself.
Both commandments were basic to Judaism. Was their
combination into a single moral principle original with Jesus? The answer is
not important. What is important is that Jesus incorporated the two
commandments into his own life and taught his disciples to do the same. For
Jesus there can be no true love of God unless it expresses itself in love of
neighbor.
But today’s texts tell us not only that we should
love both God and neighbor, they also tell us how. We must love God with our whole
being – heart, mind, soul and strength. We must love our neighbor as ourself.
Rudolf Nereyev loves dancing with his whole being. He rises in the morning
with ballet dancing on his mind and he retires at night the same way. He spends
six or seven hours a day practicing his routines because he loves what he is
doing. For Nureyev dancing is not a duty; it is his destiny.
The same is true of other people who love what they
are doing with their whole doing. Master
artists, dedicated scientists, great actors and actresses, outstanding
statesmen and stateswomen – all love their careers with their whole heart,
their whole soul, and with all their strength.
Should we do less in our love for God? Should we
love God less when he is the source of all our talents and resources? Should we
be less excited about the Creator of the order and beauty of the universe?
If we love God with our whole being, then we will worship him even while we work; pray to
him whenever we have an opportunity; read his word as well as the newspaper;
listen to his voice just as much as we listen to our radios or television sets.
Form loving God with our whole being will follow loving our neighbor as ourselves. We will look on their needs, feel their hurts and
identify with their dreams as if they were our own.
By reaching out to love our neighbor as ourselves we will find that the kingdom of God
I went to the mountains to seek wisdom, but did not
find it.
I went to the see to seek peace, but did not find
it.
I went to the temple to seek God, but did not find
him.
I went to my neighbor, and I found all three.
32nd Sunday of
the Year 1K 17: 10-16 Mk 12: 38-44
WIDOWS
The movie Places
in the Heart features actress Sally Field as a widow name Edna. The setting
is Waxahachie , Texas
After seventeen years of marriage, Edna suddenly
finds herself a widow when her husband, the town sheriff is killed by a drunk.
She now has to figure out a way to save her family and farm.
To keep the bank at bay, she is forced to take in a
blind boarder named Will. To raise enough cotton to support herself, she hires
a black sharecropper named Moze. Together with Edna’s two children, this team
struggles with frontier fortitude against chiseling cotton buyers, a stubborn
soil, the ravages of a tornado and human frailty.
By the end of the film, the heartbreaks and
triumphs they share forge their makeshift group into a real family.
A widow also plays a significant role in two of
today’s readings from Scripture.
In the Old Testament story we read about a widow
who shared with Elijah the little food she had left, food she prepared with her
last bit of flour and oil.
The gospel scene sets the spotlight on another
widow. Unaware that she is being observed by Jesus, she puts two small coins
into the temple treasury. She gave from her want, from all that she had to live
on.
All three widows in our stories come from different
periods of time. Yet they have in common their poverty, their faith and their
willingness to share. Each of these widows could have found many reasons to
excuse herself from sharing the little she had, excuses like “We don’t have
anything to spare”, or “Let others give who can afford it”.
But they refused to resort to these excuses and
risked stepping out in faith. As a consequence, what they actually accomplished
was out of all proportion to what it actually cost them.
By sharing her home with a blind boarder and a
black sharecropper, Edna not only saved her farm but gained a new family. By
feeding Elijah with some of the food from her last meal, the widow learned that
her jar of flour would never go empty, nor her jug of oil run dry. By giving
away her last two coins in the temple, the widow in the gospel “pulled off” the
biggest financial transaction in history – not in the eyes of the Wall Street Journal, but certainly in
the eyes of God.
For in the final analysis what counts in the eyes
of God is not the size of what we give, but how much it costs us in terms of
sacrifice. Generosity is not to be measured absolutely by the amount we give,
but relatively according to what we have left.
This is not to say that Jesus discourages giving
out of our surplus and abundance. There is a need for that. But it is to say
that true generosity comes from the heart when we share with others in our
poverty. True giving takes a lot of faith, like that of the three widows.
For it takes faith to share material things when we
have little for ourselves, or to volunteer our services when we don’t have
enough time. It takes faith to listen to others when we don’t have the energy,
or to inspire joy in others when our own hearts feel empty.
What do we gain when we give in faith? Perhaps the
answer lies in this verse:
And you can’t give a rose
All fragrant with dew
Without part of its fragrance
Remaining with you
33rd Sunday of the Year Dn 12: 1-3 Mk 13: 24-32
TOUGH TIMES
Television celebrity Sid Caesar has written his
autobiography under the tittle Where Have
I Been? In this book Sid Caesar reveals how he was a heavy drinker during
his glory days on television, and how he later became a drunk walking around in
a stupor for almost twenty years.
Finally, in 1978 he looked in a mirror and asked, “Sidney
I didn’t realize it during those twenty years of
drinking, but I had stopped appreciating my wife Florence
Sid Caesar’s recovery from alcoholism has renewed
his life. Before, he was destroying his life and family with drinking and
drugs. Now, he is reconstructing his life and his relationship with his wife
and children.
Sid Caesar’s experiences illustrate today’s
readings from the prophet Daniel and the evangelist Mark. They are telling us
that no matter ho9w badly things are going, God will somehow intervene in our
history to complete his victory; someday our dead will rise to live forever;
one day our heroes will shine like the stars; then we will see the Son of Man
coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
In his book Rediscovering
the Parables, Joachim Jeremias underscores the sign of our Lord’s coming,
namely, the fig tree sprouting its leaves. In Palestine
According to Jeremias, our Lord uses this image to
direct our attention, not towards the dreadful portents of the end time, but
towards the new life that will be manifested when he comes in glory.
When will this end time of life’s definitive
triumph over death come? No one knows. But in the meantime, we can anticipate
this final triumph by intermediate ones, as Sid Caesar’s victory shows.
We may still have touch times to go through – like
death striking our family, accidents happening, losing our job or being let
down by friends. But because Christ has already won the victory for us, we will
not let these tough times defeat us.
Instead, we will turn them around into triumphs of
some kid – like entering new relationships, taking on new tasks or developing
new outlooks.
Television preacher Robert Schuller likes to say:
“Tough times don’t last. Tough people do”.
We must not lose hope, then, if tough times come
upon us or even if we make twenty – year mistakes the way Sid Caesar did. For
the Lord promises to stay with our fig tree during the tough times of winter
and draw new life from its branches.
May today’s Psalm 16 be our prayer during the tough
times:
Lord, it is you who hold fast our destiny,
With you at our right hand, we shall never be
disturbed.
Show us the path to life.
Lead us to the fullness of joys in your presence.
Christ the King Dn 7: 13-14
Jn 18: 33-37
KINGSHIP DRAMA
In 1956 actor Yul Brynner won an Academy Award for
his role as the bald autocratic King of Siam in the movie The King and I. The film was based on the musical written by Rodgers
and Hammerstein for Broadway, where Brynner also played the part for a record
number of times.
In the musical, the King of Siam imports a British
governess to his exotic kingdom to educate his children. At the start they have
frequent cultural clashes, but in the end the king and the governess form a
true friendship.
Today we recall another king. He is not the king of
some country like Siam
In the first reading from the prophet Daniel, our
Lord is envisioned as the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven to receive
dominion, glory and kingship. In the gospel from John, Jesus stands trial and
is questioned about his kingship by Pilate.
Fr. Geoge MacRae points out in his commentary, Invitation to John, how the evangelist
uses theater techniques to present the drama of Christ’s passion. The stage is
set by John as Pilate’s praetorium. The principal actors are Jesus and Pilate.
As John’s Passion Play unfolds, the theme of
Christ’s kingship emerges as the central plot. It is focal point of Pilate’s
questions, the cause of our Lord’s mock coronation by the soldiers and the
substance of the inscription placed on his cross – Jesus Nazareth, King of the
Jews.
As a playwright, John uses irony to
great effect. For example, although Jesus is brought to trial before Pilate, it
is really Pilate who is being judged. Moreover, although Pilate hands him over
to be lifted up on the cross in
ignominy, he sets the stage for Jesus to be lifted
up in later glory.
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